Millions of people across the country are being urged to get ‘flood ready’ such as by signing up for flood warnings or preparing a flood plan as part of Flood Action Week which starts today, Monday 13th October.
After several named storms last winter and Storm Amy earlier this month, communities are warned not to be complacent about the risk of flooding, despite this summer’s dry weather. Flooding can have devastating and long-lasting impacts, which is why protecting people and communities is the Environment Agency’s top priority.
Flood Action Week, running this year from 13-19 October, is the Environment Agency’s annual campaign to encourage people to prepare for flooding by taking proactive steps such as knowing their flood risk, preparing a flood plan, and signing up for flood warnings.
It’s crucial to ensure that people are aware of the risk. Groundbreaking data from the EA shows that around 6.3 million homes and businesses in England are in areas at risk of flooding from rivers, the sea or surface water – yet polling shows 45% of the public have not looked up the flood risk for their home. Devastatingly, flooding also brings a significant risk to life, damage to homes, businesses and communities, and can impact people’s mental health.
Many of the RAB Team are involved in events and initiatives that are running through Flood Action Week, including:
- Monday 13th October: Andy McHugh, Principal PFR Consultant at RAB, is attending the launch of new PFR Innovation and Testing Centre, the PFR Lab, at The Deep in Hull. The new independent facility will work with the sector to innovate and develop new PFR products with testing support for British Standard certification. More PFR testing centres are needed to handle rising demand, ensure product reliability, foster innovation, and support national resilience goals in the face of increasing flood risk.
- Monday 13th October: Dan Cope-Callow, Property Flood Resilience Surveyor at RAB, is at the Houses of Parliament for the official launch of the new Floodmobile, designed to offer hands-on experience with PFR measures and advice on mitigating the risk of property flooding. Floodmobile is important because it brings flood resilience directly to communities and builds trust in certified products.
- Wednesday 15th October: Andy McHugh and Abdul Khan, Property Flood Resilience Surveyor at RAB, are at Whitehouse Construction hosting a joint event which includes:
- Tour of Whitehouse’s manufacturing facility, showcasing their British Standard Flood Doors and flood barriers.
- Visit WHC’s testing facility to demonstrate products in development, including their British Standard–approved wave machine
- Presentation by Andy McHugh on their role as Lot 1 supplier
- Presentation by WHC on our role as Lot 2 supplier
- Presentation of PFR schemes delivered in partnership with Staffordshire County Council.
- Thursday 16th October: The FloodReady Review, led by Professor Peter Bonfield and commissioned by the Environment Agency, is developing a national action plan to mainstream ‘Property Flood Resilience (PFR)’ across England. Final recommendations will be announced at the House of Parliament during Flood Action Week to coincide with the review’s conclusion and public engagement efforts. RAB contributed to the review and are working with FloodRe to deliver a data collection template for the ‘Standardisation of Property Flood Resilience Data for Flood Performance Certificates’
- Thursday 16th October: Russell Burton, MD at RAB, is attending an IPFRA (The International Property Flood Resilience Association) drinks and networking reception in Lancaster as part of Flood Action Week. RAB are founding members of IPFRA which represents the PFR industry (Surveyors, Installers, Consultants, Manufacturers and Distributors and the wider supply chain), working collaboratively with all stakeholders to lead, influence and support mainstreaming PFR.
- Friday 17th October: Russell is attending the Resilience Innovation Blueprint (RIB) workshop at Lancaster University. The RIB is being developed as a technical report which will then be converted into an EBook interactive document. The document aims to support Risk Management Authorities (RMAs) in the effective delivery of high-quality Property Flood Resilience (PFR) schemes. The RIB will provide detailed guidance of best practice gathered from a range of industry experts and local authorities. The workshop will focus on Stage 4 of the PFR Code of Practice – Commissioning and Handover. John Curtin will be joining this workshop in his new role as President of CIWEM; Flood Re’s brand new BeFloodReady FloodMobile will be onsite after it’s launch at Parliament earlier in the week. RAB are leading the Resilience Workstream of the FCRIP project Groundwater.
We will be posting regular updates on our social channels from many of these events, and more details and support to help home and business owners prepare for flooding can be found on the official Government website: https://www.gov.uk/prepare-for-flooding