Red Cross calls for more investment to prepare UK for floods

The British Red Cross has warned that further action is needed to respond to worsening floods in the UK as research suggests less than half of the public thinks their community is prepared.

Storm Bert and Storm Darragh caused widespread disruption across the country in recent weeks, including flooding, power outages, casualties and damage to buildings and infrastructure.

The British Red Cross crisis response teams were deployed across England, Wales and Northern Ireland to support people in rest centres, carry out welfare checks and provide advice as well as emotional support.

The humanitarian charity is now calling on the UK and devolved governments to increase investment in flood preparedness and help residents in high flood risk areas to identify how to prepare for a flood and get support in the aftermath.

On Wednesday, the organisation released the findings of its commissioned Opinium poll, which surveyed 3,306 adults between September 17 and 25 on levels of preparedness for floods in the UK.

Two-thirds of the respondents said they believe flooding is getting worse but only 41 per cent said they think their community is prepared.

The survey also found 42 per cent of those who reported living in a high-risk flood area said they have not signed up for flood warnings because they either had not heard of them or did not know how to sign up.

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Less than half of UK adults (46 per cent) received practical support after experiencing a flood, such as evacuation help or temporary accommodation, and a quarter (26 per cent) found the support inadequate, the poll suggests.

More widely, the research found areas with higher vulnerability to the impact of flooding, due to factors such as deprivation, showed signs of being less resilient.

One in five people living in areas of highest deprivation reported experience of flooding, compared with one in six of the general population, while insurance coverage was also lower in those areas, it suggests.

British Red Cross said information gaps are evident among people most affected by flooding, with under half of those who have experienced a flood in their home within the last five years saying they have not seen any information about flooding in their area.

Laura Scott, the charity’s head of crisis response and resilience, said: “Our teams support people in crisis every day and see first-hand the devastating effects that flooding has on people up and down the country.

“Floods can destroy homes, ruin irreplaceable and sentimental items, cost families thousands of pounds of damage and cause immense suffering.

“UK winters are getting wetter and the risk of flooding is rising.

“It is vital that people have the information they need to be able to prepare for, respond to and recover from the impact of flooding.

“Further action from governments across the UK is also needed to ensure investment and plans are in place to prepare for future floods, with targeted support for those communities and households most at risk.”

Councillor Adam Hug, environment spokesman for the Local Government Association, said: “Councils know their places and communities best, with the knowledge and familiarity of their areas to respond to extreme weather quickly and effectively.

“While councils will always do their best to ensure their areas are as resilient as possible, and when responding to severe weather prioritise efforts to ensure residents are safe, financial pressures on local government have an impact on their ability to address issues such as flooding as much as they’d like.

“Councils are critical in preparing people and places to the impacts of the changing climate. The nation is not sufficiently prepared, and central government must prioritise its work with local government to close this gap.”

It comes as the Environmental Audit Committee launched an inquiry on Tuesday into flood resilience in England as homes and businesses recover from Storm Bert and Storm Darragh.

The probe will focus on how authorities are tackling flooding events, what measures are needed to future-proof against flooding and what support is needed by householders and businesses to boost their own resilience.

Committee chair Toby Perkins MP said: “Flooding causes anger, frustration and misery for too many communities, with people asking time and again why the same places continue to be hit.

“Homes, businesses, public transport, infrastructure: all are at the mercy of flooding exacerbated by climate change.

“Our Committee is determined to get to the bottom of whether enough is being done to build our nation’s flood resilience”

Caroline Douglass, Environment Agency executive director of flood and coastal risk management, said: “Climate change means extreme weather events are happening more frequently. We can’t always predict where the rain will fall or where flooding will occur, but we do know which areas are at risk.

“At the Environment Agency we work hard to ensure the nation’s resilience to flooding, maintaining and repairing our assets and getting our teams out during flood events.

“But it is also essential we all play our part and make our own preparations, including checking our flood risk and signing up for flood warnings.”

A Defra spokesperson said: “This government inherited flood defences in their worst state on record.

“That is why we’re investing £2.4 billion over the next two years to bolster the nation’s resilience – this includes maintaining, repairing and building flood defences to protect communities across the country and co-ordinating national and local flood preparation through our Flood Resilience Taskforce.

“We also urge the public to check their flood risk and sign up for Environment Agency flood warnings.”