You can find out if you are at risk of flooding:
- imminently - check current flood warnings and river and sea levels
- in the next 5 days
- in the future - check your long term risk of flooding and view your area’s flood maps
Potential Support Following Storm Henk
Government have announced that funding may be available for properties significantly affected by flooding.
Residents and businesses affected by the flooding caused by Storm Henk between 2nd and 12th January 2024 may be eligible for financial support.
To secure grant funding for Staffordshire residents, Staffordshire County County Council as lead local flood authority needs to demonstrate that at least 50 properties were flooded internally in Staffordshire. Residents and businesses will not be eligible for grant funding unless the County meets this threshold.
Staffordshire County Council are therefore requesting individuals whose homes or businesses were internally flooded during Storm Henk complete this questionnaire by 8th March 2024.
Further information can be found on the Staffordshire County Council website.
Support Following Storm Babet
Residents and businesses affected by Storm Babet's floods between 19th and 25th October 2023 may qualify for a Property Flood Resilience Grant. You can apply for a grant of up to £5,000 (inclusive of VAT) to ensure that flood-hit homes and businesses are better prepared for severe weather and flooding in the future. This is to be administered by Staffordshire County Council, with further information available from their Flood Risk Management webpages.
Who is responsible?
Over 25,000 people in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent live in properties that are at risk of flooding.
Flooding can occur for a number of reasons and different organisations are responsible for flooding in different situations. The following outlines who is responsible for the different types of flooding.
Staffordshire County Council
Staffordshire County Council is responsible for highway drains.
Landowner
The landowner is responsible for ditches and watercourses and also piped watercourses and culverts.
Water company
The water company is responsible for public surface water sewers and foul sewers.
Environment Agency
The Environment Agency is responsible for critical watercourses and main rivers and also emergency response.
Flooding Accordion
Further information
Is my property at risk of flooding?
What should I do if my property is at risk of flooding?
If you live in an area that has previously been flooded, or live near to a river or watercourse, please make sure you have put flood defences in place and be alert for flood warnings from the Environment Agency.
While it's impossible to completely flood-proof a property, there are lots of things you can do to reduce flood damage.
Please also download the leaflet 'flooding planning managing and recovering from a flood'.
Actions you could take to help include:
- plan ahead and buy flood defences or sandbags from local DIY or builders merchants
- move treasured possessions to a place of safety (an upstairs room)
- make a personal or business flood plan, so you know what you will do/where you will go, if it does flood
- Sign up for free flood alerts - you can register for FLOODLINE alerts online or by phoning 0345 988 1188 to request flood warnings directly by phone, text or email
- download the leaflet 'flooding planning managing and recovering from a flood'
- get advice from the National Flood Forum about how to protect your property and how much this will cost
- find flood protection products and services at Blue Pages
We would encourage owners of homes and businesses in flood risk areas to make their own provision for flood defence, well in advance of a flood.
Sandbags will not totally prevent floodwater encroaching into property and householders should remove belongings to a safe location above the anticipated flood level.
People building flood defences with sandbags should also be aware of the building methods to make an effective seal and the health and safety implications of manual handling sandbags as they can be heavy.
Visit gov.uk for more information about how to prepare for a flood.
Sign up for free flood alerts
Sign up for free flood alerts - you can register for FLOODLINE alerts online or by phoning 0345 988 1188 to request flood warnings directly by phone, text or email
Flood warnings and river levels
Flood warnings for England are published on the government's website.
You can also view up-to-date river level readings for your area.
Rivers in and around East Staffordshire are:
- River Trent - Drakelow (for Burton upon Trent) and Kings Bromley
- River Dove - Rocester, Doveridge, Aston Bridge, Rolleston on Dove
- River Churnet - Quixhill (Denstone)
- River Team - Upper Tean
The change in river depth can be checked for the last 48 hours.
Flooding on roads and highways
Staffordshire County Council is responsible for highway drains. To report a problem with drain flooding on the roads please contact Staffordshire County Council.
For more information on how flooding is affecting roads please visit the Highways Agency website.
What to do if you are flooded
If you are flooded and want more advice or guidance, please contact the Environment Agency's Floodline service on 0345 988 1188.
You can listen to recorded flood warning information for your area or speak to an operator for advice 24 hours a day.
The Environment Agency website contains lots of information about what to do if you are worried about a flood, are flooded, and how to clean up after a flood. Use the following links to find out more, which all take you to the Environment Agency website:
- What to do if you are worried about flooding
- How to get help during a flood
- How to clear up after a flood - includes information on insurance, temporary accommodation and practical clearing up tips.
Rest Centres
In the event of a flooding emergency that requires people to be evacuated from their homes, we have identified a number of premises across East Staffordshire, and if necessary will work with local organisations to set up and man rest centres. We will publish any details about rest centres to this page, if and when they are set up.
There are currently no rest centres set up in East Staffordshire.
Sandbags
The Council’s priority is to reinforce flood defences, protect highways and protect borough council assets at risk of flooding.
We are not responsible for protecting private property (such as homes and businesses) during or before a flood. This is the responsibility of the individual property owners/residents and not the responsibility of the borough council or any other agency.
You may wish purchase flood defence products or sandbags from local DIY or builders merchants. Advice about how to protect your property and how much this will cost can be obtained from the National Flood Forum website. Flood Protection Products and Services can be found on the Blue Pages website.
Please see the 'What should I do if my property is at risk of flooding?' tab above for further advice.