Flood

Introduction

According to the Environment Agency around 5 million people in 2 million properties live in flood risk areas in England and Wales. This comprehensive Flood Report will add to your environmental due diligence and protect you and your clients. Reports of flooding are now on average nearly twice as frequent as they were one hundred years ago. Experts from the Met Office, world leaders in climate change, predict that we could see a very significant increase in flood risk over the next century.

The Homecheck Flood Report features clear 'traffic light' assessment and detailed flood risk information from several leading data providers as well as providing a valuable insurability rating and data on past insurance claims. Ensure you know the potential flood risk to your current or prosepective property for only £18.57.

To get a comprehensive and clear report specific to your property, please go to the front of homecheck.co.uk and type in your property details. Alternatively, please call Homecheck on 0844 844 9966.

Homecheck Flood website - offering useful and informative flood information

With the dramatic impact of widespread flooding across the UK in 2007 and the need for increased flood awareness, Homecheck launched www.homecheckflood.co.uk to highlight the issues associated with flooding, along with practical guidance on how to obtain detailed flood risk assessment information to allow homeowners to make sufficient preparations to minimise damage and inconvenience.

Case Studies

Refugees in their own country
Less than a year after moving back into their home, the Keal family was forced to flee again after the River Derwent burst its banks for the second time in two years. Their home had been completely redecorated after the first major flood but just a few months later, they had to watch as all that work was undone by another deluge. The water level reached four feet high in their dining room and it was 12 days before it finally subsided. The floors came up and the plaster came off the walls. Mrs Keal said "Your whole life ends up in a skip in the street and it's just a heart-breaking nightmare. It's not just rainwater, it has got sewage and oil in it as well, you walk back through the door and the smell hits you and you see your beautifully restored house wrecked again."

Flooding was not seen as a risk when the Keal family bought their home six years before the flooding happened. The local authority survey did not indicate a problem and as the house is several hundred yards from the river, the Keals did not expect to be flooded. After the first flood the Keals were told that it was a one in fifty-year event. Now the local authorities reckon that the river could flood at any time. Mrs Keal said "We have been very happy here but if I had a choice I would not go back, but I don't have a choice."

After the flood, properties in the area halved in value and have been slower in price growth than others in recent years.

Dioxin river floods homes

Residents of Rotherham became concerned that their homes have been contaminated with dioxins after the river Rother burst its banks. Rotherham Borough Council warned that the floodwaters were likely to be contaminated with sewage. A month later it emerged that an analysis of the silt left by the flood water in a residential street was found to be contaminated with dioxins. Investigations by HM Inspectorate of Pollution concluded that the pollution originated from an incinerator at the Coalite chemical works in Bolsover. Large amounts of dioxins were released into the air and the watercourse alongside the factory.

Flooding Facts

Around 5 million people, in 2 million properties live in flood risk areas in England and Wales.

Property, land and assets to the value of £214 billion are at risk of flooding in England and Wales.

Two million homes have been built in the natural floodplain of rivers or the coast and are vulnerable to flooding.

The Environment Agency suggests that 43% of existing flood defences are in a fair, poor or very poor state of repair.

[Source: Environment Agency]

FAQs

What is a floodplain?
A floodplain is the natural 'overspill' area when a river rises above its banks or when high tides or stormy seas cause flooding of low-lying coastal areas. On our maps, river floodplains are coloured blue and coastal floodplains are coloured green. Some areas are at risk of flooding from rivers and the sea.

The maps use the best information available based on computer models, survey data and historical records and will be updated as new information becomes available.

If a property is identified as being in a floodplain, further enquiries are recommended of the local Environment Agency office in relation to any local flooding history and the existence of any flood defences.

I am in a floodplain but have never suffered from flooding Being in a floodplain doesn't mean your home or business will definitely be flooded ' many other factors come into the equation. The maps are a guide and should prompt people who live near a river or the sea to be aware and to find out more.

If you are on the edge of the floodplain it is important that you know how to prepare for flooding when you hear a warning. Your travel routes may take you into the flooded area, or the flood may be so severe that it extends beyond the currently mapped indicative floodplain.

Where does Homecheck get its information?
The Homecheck Flood report consists of data from a selection of key providers such as the Environment Agency, British Geological Scoiety and Norwich Union to ensure the potential risk level is established by looking at as many different data sources and flood types as possible. Its datasets include land contours, the presence of river and sea defences and modelling for 100 and 1000 year events.

The maps use the best information currently available, based on historical flood records and geographical models. They indicate where flooding from rivers, streams, watercourses or the sea is possible.

Nobody told me my house was at risk when I bought it
Landmark Information Group have provided flood risk information to solicitors for over ten years as part of the Homecheck Professional environmental report, now we have made this information available direct to the consumer to ensure you can access information on a property in a convenient and effcient way when you want it.