Flooding - general information and advice

The Cumbria County Council website provides a wealth of information about how to be prepared before, during and after a flood.

Current warnings from the Environment Agency

Reporting blocked road drains and surface water flooding

If a drain is blocked, you can report it to Cumbria County Council.

Preparing for a flood and keeping up to date with the latest situation

There are some simple things you can do to be better prepared for a flood:

• Sign up to the Environment Agency's flood warnings and keep an eye on the Met Office weather forecasts. Follow them on their Twitter accounts on @EnvAgencyNW, @MetOffice .
• Find out the risk of flooding at your property
• Keep up to date with the latest from Cumbria Police, and follow them on Twitter @Cumbriapolice . Also keep up with Cumbria County Council, and follow them on @CumbriaCC as well as ourselves @Allerdale
• Keep an eye on river levels using these webcams
• Make your home or business more resilient to flooding. See the Environment Agency for more advice. 
• Devise a flood plan for your property and your community
• Contact your local flood action group. There are groups in Keswick, Cockermouth and Workington
• In emergency situations, tune in to BBC Radio Cumbria
• Read through the Protecting Precious Memories document which looks at how to protect those items which are really precious to you

There is also a wealth of information on the Flood Hub:

Go to the Flood Hub website

Flood sacks (similar to sand bags)

Flood sacks are items which swell when placed in water and can act as a barrier, much like a sand bag, to divert water. When dry they are light and reasonably flat so they can be stored for when they are required. If you are worried about flooding you can also get sandbags and flood sacks from builders merchants. Please remember that sandbags and flood sacks are only an aid to slowing down water ingress. They cannot be relied upon to protect your property from flooding.

We have distributed FREE flood sacks at various locations to help you keep flood water from your property. The current locations are:

Aspatria (and local area)

• Aspatria Dairy, Station Road, Aspatria, Cumbria (24 hours)
• Blennerhasset Community Hall
• Bagrow, The Grey Goat. 
• Aspatria Dairy, Station Road, Aspatria, Cumbria (24 hours)

Cockermouth (and local area)

• Cockermouth Library, Main Street, Cockermouth  (open weekdays 10am - 4pm and Saturdays 10am-2pm)
• Brigham Memorial Hall, Brigham (distributed by the Parish Council)

Keswick (and local area)

• Allerdale Borough Council Keswick office, Keswick Town Hall, Main Street, Keswick (office open usual office hours, distribution organised by Keswick Flood Action Group during emergencies)
• St Herbert's Church Hall, Braithwaite (contact Allerdale Borough Council on 0303 123 1702 for distribution details)

Maryport (and local area)

• Allerdale Borough Council Maryport office, Senhouse Street, Maryport (open usual office hours unless in an emergency)
• Allonby - (distributed by the Parish Council)
• Dearham Village Hall, Dearham (distributed by the Parish Council)
• Dearham Commercial pub. (distributed by the Parish Council)
• Flimby Cemetery, Flimby (contact Allerdale Borough Council on 0303 123 1702 for distribution details)
• Flimby, Rugby Field (contact Allerdale Borough Council on 0303 123 1702 for distribution details)
• Maryport Fire Station, Maryport (contact Allerdale Borough Council on 0303 123 1702 for distribution details)

Silloth

• Solway Coast Discovery Centre, Liddell Street, Silloth-on-Solway, Cumbria, CA7 4DD (sandbags only) (open weekdays and Saturday mornings.)

Wigton

• Wigton Local Links, Community Office, Market Hall, Church Street, Wigton, Cumbria CA7 9AA(open usual office hours unless in an emergency)

Workington

• Allerdale Borough Council main office, Allerdale House, Workington, CA14 3YJ (open usual office hours unless in an emergency)
• Barepot Soapary Works store (contact Workington Town Council)

Cleaning up after a flood 

The Environment Agency provides a wealth of information on what to do after you have been flooded. You can also find information on how to staysafe and healthy during a clean-up.

Who does what with regard to flooding?

When Cumbria floods a number of organisations work together to help. We all have different roles and responsibilities

Allerdale Borough Council - our primary role is to set up and man reception centres for people who have had to be evacuated from their homes. We will then help find alternative temporary accommodation. Once the immediate emergency is over, we can assist with environmental health, housing, building control, and planning enquiries and issues.

Cumbria County Council - are the strategic flood authority in the county and co-ordinate and lead on flood recovery. They are also responsible for surface water and road flooding.

Environment Agency -  the EA is responsible for incidents involving sea and river flooding. They provide a wealth of information on river and sea levels through their website.

The Cumbria Strategic Flood Partnership oversees all the work going on in Cumbria to tackle flooding.

More advice on flooding

There is a wealth of information relating to flooding:

• Find out about how to make your property more resilient to flooding
• Find out about the Flood Re insurance scheme if you have been flooded