Assessing the flood situation
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Directly affected
Mybusiness is not operational due to flood/weather damage.
Take these steps as soon as possible:
- Contact any customers who have booked, advise them of your situation and offer them alternatives or refunds. See Communicating with customers.
- Assess your business (both in terms of damage and cash flow/future financial planning). Immediate issues around repairs and maintenance are critical, as is ensuring your business can communicate with the outside world.
Indirectly affected
My business is impacted by floods in the area.
Knowing how you could be affected will help you identify how you need to respond to the situation. Even if the situation may not seem serious at first, it is important you keep up-to-date with the news, locally, nationally and through social media. Ask yourself the following questions:
- Can customers get to you? Are they stranded in flooded areas, or do they have to travel through flooded areas to reach you? Are public transport facilities fully operational? If not, this will mean cancellations.
- Are your suppliers still able to provide you with products and services?
- Are your staff able to get to work?
- Are attractions and other local facilities your customers are likely to use still open?
- Are destinations near you affected by floods? If so, how is this being reported - are people being advised to stay away? Don’t assume visitors know the geography of your destination, so they may cancel if they see floods in the wider region.
Trusted sources of information
During a flood emergency, you need to establish the situation and know what your immediate location is facing, so you can both seek help for repairs and maintenance and communicate with customers.
It’s important you use trusted sources of information. If you have a local business organisation, accredited Local Visitor Economy Partnership, Business Improvement District or Chamber of Commerce (BIDCC), they may have made an assessment from a business/tourism perspective and have plans in place.
Monitor the Environment Agency updates, local weather reports and travel information through the following sites:
Environment Agency
Find the latest flood warnings and information.
Met Office
Get UK weather warnings from the Met Office.
Highways England
Find the latest information on traffic conditions and road closures.
National Rail
See the latest information on rail travel disruption.
Addressing the future impact of flooding
Get guidance on mitigating the future impact of flooding on your business.
Returning to normal after flooding
How to get your business back on track and keep your customers up to date.
Actions to take when dealing with flooding
Read a summary of what you should do during and after a flood event.
Further support for dealing with flooding
Discover where to find more help, including any funding schemes available.
