Case study
After extensive flooding (over knee height) in 2020, the owner-occupier of this Edwardian house in Worcester chose to build back better. This property floods regularly, it flooded every year for four years and a mixture of resistance and recoverability measures were put in place to the reduce the emotional and financial burden on the occupants of the house.
The owner was aware of its flood risk when she bought the property, her searches indicating it would flood every seven years or so. Unfortunately, her home flooded every year since moving in. During the worst flood in 2020, the flood water in her home was so deep she had to resort to wearing waders indoors. The property had flood barriers, but they were overwhelmed by the very intense flood. For this flood event, she had to make a large insurance claim of £45,000 and used it to adapt her home.
Impact of flooding was reduced and the speed of recovery much improved compared to previous flooding.
The house was flooded again in 2022 and the steps taken proved their worth; only 5cm (under 2”) of water entered the home and she was able to hose it out, carry on living there, and not make an insurance claim.
“The homeowner knew this area was flood prone from living in Worcester prior to buying the house but did not realise it would flood this frequently or lead to such significant damage despite the flood barrier. After four years of successive flooding, she decided to make changes to her home to avoid being out of her home for weeks at a time and having to make insurance claims. The combination of increased resistance and high recoverability means the homeowner can now live free of flood anxiety. If she floods, she can clean up and continue living in her home.”
Being prepared for potential flooding is an important element of being flood resilient as it leads to approaches to use PFR measures. It’s about understanding your flood risk, now and for the future.
