Flooding

If there is an immediate risk to life, please call the emergency services on 999 

Councils, emergency services and the NHS work together to help people prepare for flooding and to stay safe.

It is also important residents and businesses take all possible steps to prepare and protect their properties if flood warnings are issued.

We advise you:

• To sign up for flood alerts
• To prepare your home (remember anyone can be at risk of flooding)
• To check before you travel – find live travel updates online, by listening to local radio or by following Area Traffic Control on Twitter
• Not to drive through flood water

Flooding from sewers

Contact Severn Trent Water online or call 0800 783 4444. To assist them please have your postcode ready and record the incident number given to you. This may enable you to track your enquiry.

Flooding on roads

Contact Leicestershire County Council Highways online or phone 0116 305 0001. The problem may be drainage-related or influenced by the capacity of Severn Trent Water Limited’s sewers serving the highway drains.

Flooding from main rivers

Contact the Environment Agency's Floodline on 0345 988 1188. Warnings of flooding from main rivers can be provided by email or text message by registering with the Environment Agency on 0845 988 1188.

Flooding from ordinary rivers or streams

It is the riparian owner's (for example the landowner's) responsibility to make sure that a watercourse is not obstructed. If you live on the edge of any watercourse you have a responsibility to ensure that it does not become obstructed. View Severn Trent's guide to sewer flooding for further information.

Report a flood 

Leicestershire County Council is the Lead Flood Authority and is interested in recording all reports of flooding in order to identify any patterns emerging.

Report flooding issues to Leicestershire County Council online, or call 0116 305 0001. 

Is your home at risk of flooding?

Find out if you are at risk of flooding before a flood happens. Check the risk for your area or call Floodline on 0345 988 1188.

If you are in an at risk area, sign up for flood warning messages from the Environment Agency flood warning service on the Flood Warning Information website.

Protecting your home from flooding 

It is your responsibility to protect your home in the first instance. 

If you think that your home is at risk of flooding you need to protect your home with suitable flood defence products.

The National Flood Forum is a charity set up to support those affected by flooding. They have a list of available flood protection products on their blue pages.

In an emergency sandbags can be purchased from DIY outlets ready to use in case of a flood. Remember though, sandbags are only a short term fix and may not be appropriate or effective in some flood risk circumstances.

Advice on cleaning up after a flood

Floods can cause damage to your property and leave dangerous mess and debris in or around your home. If you have experience flooding follow this advice to make sure you are safe when clearing up the area:

• Don't enter your house until all flood water has been removed. Leicestershire Fire and Rescue may be able to help you with pumping flood water out of your house. If other people are affected you may need to wait a little for this help
• If nearby traffic is causing further flooding to your property by creating waves, contact Leicestershire Police on 101
• If flooding is being caused by a public sewer contact your water supplier (Severn Trent Water 0800 783 4444 or Anglian Water 0800 771881 depending on where you live)
• If flooding is being caused by a blocked road gully you can report it to Leicestershire County Council via their online Report It form. Please remember that gullies may appear to be blocked, but are actually not draining due to remaining high water levels in the watercourses they drain to
• It’s very important to wear rubber gloves to move objects or clean surfaces that have been in contact with flood water, as the water will have been contaminated with sewage and other pollution
• Speak to your insurer. Take photos of your property for your insurers and don't dispose of damaged goods until insurers have said whether they want to inspect them
• Get a qualified plumber and electrician to reconnect appliances
• Don't use electrical equipment that has been exposed to flood water until checked by a qualified electrician
• Make sure floorboards or damaged tiled floors are fully repaired as flood water may cause sharp edges of tiles or raised nails in the floorboards
• Look after yourself. Flooding can cause a number of health problems. The UK government and Severn Trent also have some advice on how you can get it cleaned up safely, what you can do and how they can help.

Sandbags

We keep a limited number of sandbags, for emergency situations. We have a clear policy to guide the provision and deployment of our sandbags in the event of a flood, which you can view in the download panel at the bottom of this page.

We can provide sandbags to support with priority situations such as:

• Preventing loss of life or serious injury.
• Protecting critical infrastructure (for examples, hospitals, substations).
• Maintaining emergency service access.
• Supporting vulnerable residents unable to protect their property.
• Assisting other responding agencies. 

We cannot provide sandbags for:

• General residential use (except in exceptional circumstances where the criteria is met).
• Gardens, garages, or non-habitable areas.
• Commercial premises (unless critical infrastructure).
• Precautionary requests.

Community Sandbag Stores

Communities at high flood risk are encouraged to set up local sandbag stores, managed by parish councils or volunteers. These stores help ensure faster local response during flood events.

Emergency Contact

If your property is at imminent risk of flooding and meets the priority criteria outlined in our policy you can get in touch with us to request sandbags. We cannot guarantee availability or delivery. 

• Call 01664 502 502 
• For out-of-hours emergencies, select Option 1 to reach the emergency contact centre.

More flood advice is available on the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Local Resilience Forum website.