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Articles, guides, and curated resources — from direct experience, with no agenda other than helping you make better decisions.

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Victorian culvert
Insurance

What to Do in the First 72 Hours After Your Home Floods

The decisions made in the first three days define the entire recovery. Most flood victims make at least two costly mistakes before anyone independent arrives.

Coming soon
Build Back Better
Build Back Better

The £10,000 Flood Entitlement Most Homeowners Never Claim

Flood Re's Build Back Better scheme has been available since 2022. Most flood victims have never heard of it. Here is what it is and how to claim it.

Coming soon
Engineering drawing
Drainage

How to Force a Council to Fix the Infrastructure That Flooded Your Home

Under Section 19 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010, councils have a statutory duty to investigate. Here is how to use it.

Coming soon

More articles in preparation. Sign up for the free guide below to receive them by email when published.

Surface Water Flooding

You do not need to live near a river to lose everything to flooding

Surface water flooding happens when rainfall overwhelms drainage systems and has nowhere to go. It does not come from rivers. It comes from the ground beneath your feet — from drainage infrastructure that was never upgraded to cope with modern rainfall, modern population density, and modern paving.

4.6 million properties in England are at risk of surface water flooding — three times as many as are at risk from rivers and the sea.

The village near Buckinghamshire where this project took place is recorded in the Domesday Book. The culvert system beneath the village was constructed in the 1800s. The village has grown substantially since — but the drainage beneath it had not.

"We had no rivers near us. No streams. We were not in a flood zone. We flooded twice anyway — because the infrastructure beneath the village had never been built to cope with what the village had become."

Sebastian O'Connell, Founder, RISE Flood Recovery Consultancy
Victorian brick culvert
The Victorian brick culvert beneath the village — built in the 1800s and never upgraded to cope with modern rainfall
Council contractors
The council's contractors installing new twinwall drainage pipes — over £2 million of public infrastructure works
Engineering drawing
The Atkins Realis engineering drawing — the official Drainage Diversion Plan for Main Street, Gawcott, issued for construction
Free Resources

What every homeowner at flood risk should know

All publicly available, all free to access. RISE directs every client to these because informed homeowners make better decisions.

Check Your Flood Risk (England)

The Environment Agency's official mapping tool — rivers, sea, surface water, and groundwater risk by postcode.

gov.uk/check-long-term-flood-risk ↗

EA Flood Warning Service

Free flood alerts to your phone. Floodline: 0345 988 1188.

gov.uk/sign-up-for-flood-warnings ↗

FloodRe — Scheme & Build Back Better

Eligibility checker, participating insurers, and Build Back Better information.

floodre.co.uk ↗

Property Care Association

The professional body for structural waterproofing and flood resilience. Always use a PCA member contractor.

property-care.org ↗

National Flood Forum

National charity and Blue Pages directory of Property Flood Resilience specialists.

nationalfloodforum.org.uk ↗

Ciria C790

The Code of Practice for Property Flood Resilience. Every flood contractor should work to this standard.

ciria.com/flooding ↗

BIBA Flood Insurance Directory

Specialist flood insurance brokers for hard-to-insure properties.

biba.org.uk/find-insurance ↗

GOV.UK — After a Flood

Official guidance on immediate steps, safety, and the recovery process.

check-for-flooding.service.gov.uk ↗
Free Guide

The 10 Things Your Insurer Won't Tell You After a Flood

A plain-English guide to the information gap that costs flood victims tens of thousands of pounds. Free. No strings attached.

No spam. One email with your guide. Unsubscribe any time.

What's inside
What your accommodation budget actually funds
The Build Back Better entitlement most people never claim
Why DPM continuity matters and how to check it
What to photograph before anything is touched
What a loss adjuster can and cannot approve
How to tell if your rebuild will cause a second flood
How to force a council to fix its own infrastructure
The questions to ask before you sign anything
The Financial Ombudsman Service — your final backstop
FloodRe — who qualifies and who doesn't
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