One year anniversary of Storm Babet during UK flood action week 

One year on from Storm Babet, which saw the third wettest three-day period in England and Wales since 1891, the Environment Agency has urged the public to be prepared for flooding events as part of their annual ‘Flood Action Week’ initiative. 

As climate change brings more extreme weather, there has already been flooding this autumn. Only last month, heavy rainfall led to the first major incident of the season with almost a thousand properties flooded. It followed the wettest 18 months on record in England up to February 2024.   

With 1 in 5 homes at risk of surface water flooding in the UK, this initiative is vital to highlight the increasing risk that homes and businesses are now facing and that there are proactive, preventative measures that people can take to mitigate loss and prevent the impacts flooding can have.  

Recent data suggests that nearly half the country is unsure of how to find information on local flood risks, making this campaign all the more important. Furthermore, Previsico has also collected data that shows 54% of public sector and private companies do not have a flood action plan in place.  

A notable impact of flooding is the financial loss from the damage. Following the flooding caused by Storms Ciara and Dennis in 2020, it was estimated that the average insurance claim per household was £32,000.  

The impacts of flooding to mental health can be equally as harmful as the physical damage and disruption. People whose homes have been damaged by extreme weather are more likely to have poor mental health than the rest of the population. 

Minister of flooding, Emma Hardy said: 

“Flooding can be a destructive force that puts everything in life on hold. I’ve seen the impacts firsthand and am determined to ensure as much as possible others do not.” 

“Through the recent launch of our Floods Resilience Taskforce, this government is taking decisive action to accelerate the development of flood defences and bolster the nation’s resilience to extreme weather.” 

“But this Flood Action Week, we must be all be proactive in taking steps to protect ourselves by checking our flood risk and signing up for flood warnings.” 

At Previsico, our mission is to minimise the impact of flooding globally by enabling people and organisations to proactively mitigate its effects. We are experts in real-time flood forecasting providing early warnings to enable flood mitigation. Our proprietary technology is underpinned by over two decades of published research with over 5600 citations and 220 published papers.

This technology uses live hydrodynamic modelling and leverages weather nowcasts and forecasts, satellite imagery, ground sensors, LiDAR elevation data, land cover, drainage and geology. These are augmented with Previsico sensor devices to forecast, monitor and help prevent flood impacts.