Flood warnings
Flood warnings (new window), three day flood
risk forecasts, information on river and sea levels and online
flood warning services can be found on the Environment Agency
website.
If you are in a flood risk area you can sign up for
Floodline Warnings Direct, a free service provided
by the Environment Agency that provides flood warnings direct to
you by telephone, mobile, email, text message and fax. You can
sign up online (new window) or by calling
the Environment Agency's Floodline on 0845 988
1188.
Advice on what to do, before, during and after a flood is
available from Floodline on 0845 988
1188.
Weather and tide information
Predicted tide levels for our coast are available from the
National
Oceanography Centre (new window). Data is given for
Felixstowe (new window) or
Lowestoft (new window). Please note that these
are only predicted levels and that the actual height of tides will
be affected by the weather conditions on the day - for example
which way the wind is blowing.
Follow this link for weather and tide information from BBC
Weather.
Preparing for flooding and what to do during a flood
If you know that you live in an area that is liable to flood,
Don't wait until it happens. Prepare, make plans
and discuss with your family what you will do and where to go,
before a flood happens. Follow these links for more information
about preparing for flooding and
what to do during a flood.
Suffolk Coastal's domestic flood protection policy
There is no statutory requirement for local authorities to
provide domestic flood protection materials for the public and,
because of this, Suffolk Coastal holds only a limited supply of
sandbags.
Suffolk Coastal will not provide domestic flood protection
materials, such as sandbags, to individual properties at immediate
risk of or experiencing actual flooding.
The limited supplies of sandbags we hold will be deployed, at
our discretion, to divert flood water and protect strategic
infrastructure at risk of flooding.
Suffolk Coastal will maintain materials appropriate to reducing
the impact of flooding to communities where local authority flood
defences are under threat of failure or where flood water is being
channelled via roads or paths.
We will work with the Joint Emergency Planning Unit through the
Suffolk
Community Resilience initiative (new window), to help support
local communities prepare for, and respond to, emergencies such as
flooding and provide them with information on the most effective
measures for protecting property from flood damage.
Follow the link below to read our policy in full:
Sandbags and other flood protection products
Sandbags are not waterproof and are best used for large,
temporary, professionally constructed, flood defences where a
torrent can be reduced to a trickle before it gets to nearby
buildings. They will not keep floods out of individual buildings
where the water level outside is higher than the doorstep or any
airbricks.
Removable flood boards and airbrick covers and non-return
valves for drainage systems are a much more effective and
convenient means of preventing water entry. Details of of flood
protection products are available on the
Environment Agency website (new window).
However, where required, filled sandbags are available via local
builders merchants.
Empty sandbags can be purchased from Suffolk Coastal Services'
depot in Yarmouth Road, Ufford IP13 6ET - these bags are light, and
easy to store for future use. Sand to fill them can be obtained
from builders merchants or garden soil can be used in an
emergency.
If stored for future use, empty bags will last longer as they do
not suffer from rot caused by damp sand.
Food safety advice
If you have been affected by flooding, either because your home
has been flooded, or your water supply has been cut off,
read our tips on how to prepare food safely and
what to do with garden produce.
If you run a food business there are some
safety precautions you need to take if your
business has been affected by
flooding.