Don’t make the mistake of thinking that flooding is only an issue to be concerned about during the winter months. The summer floods of 2007, when the UK saw the wettest summer on record, demonstrate that flooding can strike at any time of year. Whilst many sources report this was a freak event, you can never be too prepared when it comes to your business continuity.

Recent news suggests that two thirds of properties in England are in areas at risk of flooding so taking this into account when putting together your business continuity plan is a good idea as flooding can have a devastating impact. Your business continuity plan will document the steps you should take in order to keep your business running or get back on track as quickly as possible, if a disaster, such as flooding does occur.

We look at some other steps you can take to find out if your business is at risk of flooding and what precautions you can take to mitigate any damage that may be caused.

Finding out if your business is at risk of flooding

The Environment Agency provide a number of useful tools which can help you identify if your premises are at risk of flooding and to keep on top of flood warnings:

• Live flood risk maps
• Online postcode search for England and Wales
• Sign up to free flood warnings via phone, email or text
• Targeted flood warning service – this carries a charge but may be of benefit if you have business premises in multiple locations

It is also worth keeping an eye on sources such as the Met Office for timely weather forecasts.

Protecting your business against flooding

There are many steps that you can take to prepare your business against the risk of flooding, including:

Have a plan in place – As we stated earlier your business continuity plan will contain details of the processes and procedures you should take if disaster, such as flooding strikes. Make sure your staff are aware of the plan, that key staff have undergone training in implementing the plan and that the plan is easily accessible so that you can take action quickly to mitigate the extent of any damage.

Have key contact details to hand – This will allow you to quickly get in touch with key parties – this could include numbers such as your insurance company, key staff members, utilities companies and service providers.

Organise your premises with flooding in mind – There are steps you can take to minimise any damage to your premises if a flood should affect your business.

• If you know you are in a flood risk area you may want to invest in flood barriers so that you have easy access at short notice
• Store important documents up high. You may want to consider also storing your IT systems at a higher level. If this isn’t practical all the time, then you may want to consider doing so when there are flood risk warnings announced
• Planning building improvements? There are many flood resistant technologies available now which can be incorporated into your building- permeable outdoor surfaces or flood resistant plaster are two such examples. It’s also worth siting electrical sockets higher up the walls, so they are less likely to suffer water damage if you are flooded.

Ensure you have insurance cover in place – never assume that your insurance policy includes cover for certain risks. It is important to check the wording of any policies closely and if you aren’t insured for events such as flooding, make sure you update your policy at the earliest possible chance.

Flooding is a risk that isn’t going to go away, particularly with the concerns over climate change and the resulting effects on our weather. So, if you’ve not given any thought to how flooding could impact your business or put a business continuity plan in place to protect your business now may be a good time to do so.