Steps you can take now
Plan ahead!
Key things to consider if you live or work in a flood risk area include:
- Make sure you are insured - check with home contents and building insurers and seek their advice. FloodRe is a joint initiative between the government and insurers, aiming to make home insurance more affordable for those in flood risk areas. Website: floodre.co.uk
- Know where to check latest news, weather reports and any flood warnings.
- Prepare children’s essentials and safely store a good supply of family medication.
- Be neighbourly - check that any vulnerable neighbours, friends and family are well prepared too.
- Think about sentimental items which might be best stored now in a safe high place or upstairs.
- Check out the advice on this page, consider if any measures are appropriate for your property and you, and stock up on the necessary supplies.
- Visit Advice for emergencies in Scotland (ready.scot) for more tips and advice on being ready for all kinds of emergencies.
- Make up a family flood plan and a flood kit, including a battery / wind up radio, torches, blankets, waterproof clothing, plastic gloves, first aid kit, camera, and any other personal documents or valuable possessions. See this short video from SEPA detailing flood kits
Know how to turn off essential services
Turn off electricity and water supplies at the mains – find out now if you don’t know where they are. Cookers, washing machines, dishwasher etc. connected by rigid pipes to gas and water supplies should be disconnected. This will prevent damage to the pipes if they move or float during the flood.
SEPA (Scottish Environment Protection Agency) also has information that will help you before, during and after a flood. Please visit their website, available from Related Sites at the bottom of this page, and follow the links for flooding.
Sign up for SEPA flood alerts and warnings
People in Orkney can sign up to Floodline, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA’s) flood warning service, to receive Flood Alerts and Flood Warnings direct to their mobile phone.
A Flood Alert gives you notification when flooding is possible in Orkney. Flood Warnings are issued up to 48 hours in advance of a predicted coastal flooding, giving you extra time to prepare and take action.
In addition, SEPA has localised Coastal Flood Warnings for Orkney issued when flooding is expected in areas exposed or prone to coastal flooding. The areas are Kirkwall, Burray and Ayre of Cara, Stromness, Longhope and Hoy, St Mary’s and Graemeshall, St Margaret’s Hope, Scapa bay, Stronsay, Sanday and Westray, and the Churchill Barriers. Use the links below to check the area covered by location-specific Flood Warnings as well as their status:
Flood Updates – Burray and Ayre of Cara
Flood Updates – Churchill Barriers
Flood Updates – Kirkwall
Flood Updates – Longhope and Hoy
Flood Updates – Sanday
Flood Updates – Scapa
Flood Updates – St Margaret’s Hope
Flood Updates – St Mary’s and Graemeshall
Flood Updates – Stromness
Flood Updates – Stronsay
Flood Updates – Westray
Sign up to receive receive Coastal Flood Warnings for your area, via SEPA’s website - simply follow the link to the 'Floodline Service' - or phone Floodline on 0345 988 1188. You can also sign up to more than one Flood Warning area (for example, Kirkwall and the Churchill Barriers), but will need to phone Floodline to do this.
Link to Floodline sign up page: Floodline | Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA)
SEPA also run the Scottish Flood Forecast service where users can check predicted flooding impacts for the current day and the following two days. Link to Scottish Flood Forecast: Scottish Flood Forecast | Thursday 01 August 2024 (sepa.org.uk)
Scottish Flood Forum
Enquiries phone number: 0131 563 9392
The Scottish Flood Forum offer excellent advice on flood preparedness including insurance, property level protection and what to do during a flood and recovery following flooding. The Council's Engineering team work closely with The Scottish Flood Forum and can help further explain the information on this website. See the direct links below to useful pages from their website.
