For advice on what to do before, during and after a flood visit the Environment Agency's website. If your property could be at risk of flooding in the future, please consider:
For information about clearing up and drying out properties after a flood, please see our Clearing Up After a Flood leaflet.
Dehumidifiers can be hired from:
Dehumidifiers can be purchased from Homebase, Argos, Tesco.com, Currys, Sainsburys.co.uk, B&Q and Wickes.
For more advice on using a dehumidifier, please see the Drying Out a Property After a Flood leaflet.
Following bad weather, beware of rogue traders who may seek to exploit people who have been affected.
Residents are encouraged to look out for vulnerable neighbours and ensure they do not fall prey to a minority of people who could take advantage of others’ plight for commercial gain.
If you do need to have repair work undertaken, Kent Police advises using traders who been recommended by family or friends or choose someone from schemes intended to improve business standards and provide increased consumer confidence, for example Kent County Council Trading Standards’ Buy with Confidence approved trader scheme.
Don’t deal with doorstep callers offering work on your home or garden.
Residents can report any suspicious people or callers to Citizens Advice on 0345 404 0506.
Further advice can be found in this handy guide from Kent Police.
Report any potential emergency situations, like fallen trees, pot holes on fast stretches of road and any other damage to Kent Highway Services by calling 0300 041 8181. Other faults can be reported online on Kent County Council's website.
Please be aware of icy surfaces when out driving, especially in the early morning. Don't drive through flood water. Just 30cm of flowing water can move a family car.
A 'road closed' or 'road flooded' sign means that the road isn't safe. You should either use an alternative route or wait until those roads have been given the all clear. Flooded roads without signs are still unsafe and could have been damaged by the flood water.
For more information about driving during severe weather visit the Met Offices's advice page.
For information about footpath and road clearing visit the Kent Highways Services winter service information website.
Sandbags provide some protection but are unlikely to prevent water entering property during severe flooding.
We keep a stock of sandbags, but these are limited in number. We use them to help protect key infrastructure identified by the emergency services, or as a barrier to divert water away from numbers of properties at a time. We will always help wherever we can, but we don't have a duty to provide sandbags to communities, individual homes or businesses.
You are responsible for your own flood protection equipment, including sandbags. If you think sandbags will be useful for your home, you can buy them from builders merchants to store at home ready to react quickly if there’s a problem.
Advice on how to use sandbags, before, during and after a flood can be found in the Environment Agency's Sandbags Guide.
Used gel-based flood bags, aren't reusable and should be thrown away in your rubbish bins.
You may wish to keep your own sandbags at home in case of flooding in the future. We don't sell sandbags, but you can purchase them from:
Find out all the latest about power cuts by visiting the UK Power Networks website or by following them on Twitter @UKPowerNetworks.
You can use the UK Power Networks Live Power Map to search for and view any power cuts in your area.
This is a new service from UK Power Networks for those that might need extra assistance during a power cut. For example, people that rely on medical equipment, have babies and the elderly or disabled. For more information or to register for the service visit UK Power Networks Priority Service Register website.
To report a power cut or damaged power lines:
Remember to stay well clear as live power lines are very dangerous. If they're down or pose a significant risk to the public call 999 instead.
If you have a power cut:
If you cannot find what you are looking for in our search facility, you can use our A-Z index to find the service you require.