Protecting the public and dealing with major flooding.
Flooding is a natural occurrence and no drainage systems or
flood protection measures can give absolute protection. Suffolk
County Council liaises with the
Environment Agency to give the public advice on what to do if
flooding does affect you.
Using the latest technology available, Enviroment Agency staff
monitor rainfall, river levels and sea conditions 24 hours a day
and use this information to forecast the possibility of
flooding. If flooding is forecast, warnings are issued using
the following codes:
- Flood watch: Flooding possible. Be aware and be prepared;
- Flood warning: Flooding expected affecting homes, businesses
and main roads. Act now;
- Severe flood warning: Severe flooding expected. Imminent
danger to life and property: and
- All clear: Issued when flow watches or warnings are no longer
in force.
Suffolk County Council’s responsibility
If flooding occurs in Suffolk, we will:
- provide emergency assistance dependent on our local knowledge
and experience of the situation;
- relay the Environment Agency’s flood warnings to the public;
and
- where county roads and culverts are affected by serious
flooding impacting on adjacent properties the county council will
provide sandbags and other equipment to try and limit the damage
caused by flooding.
If your property is prone to flooding, you need to make your own
arrangements to protect it.
We also have an Emergency Planning Unit, which
deals with issues such as plans for temporary accommodation and
evacuation of houses due to serious flooding.
Another of our roles is to give pre-flooding advice on how to
protect properties from flooding and we also inform property owners
of their roles and responsibilities under the Land Drainage Act
(1991).
Please note that, although we try and do all we can to aid
people caught in floods, we have no legal responsibility to provide
assistance to residents during floods. We will always attempt to
protect the public at large and will not be able to assist a large
number of individual homeowners, who may find their properties
threatened.
Flood information
When there is a risk of flooding, the Environment Agency issues
warnings through the media; they are broadcast on TV weather
bulletins and on radio weather and travel reports. Make sure you
know which is your local radio station.
Flood warnings are also displayed on ITV Teletext regional
weather pages (page 154) and on BBC Ceefax (page 419).
The Environment Agency provides the Floodline Service -
Telephone 0845 988 1188.
You can listen to recorded flood warning information or speak to
an operator for general information and advice 24 hours a
day