Emergency planning

To prepare for emergencies (opens new window), we maintain contingency plans. We develop these alongside parish councils and community organisations.

You might also find the Norfolk Resilience Forum website useful.

It is important that we support each other during emergencies, and that we prepare properly so we can take care of vulnerable people in our communities.

You could create a community resilience plan. These identify volunteer community contacts, who receive and pass on information about local hazards and respond to an emergency in their community.

• Contact us if you would like help developing an emergency plan

Check the Flood information service: Flood warnings for England (opens new window) page for up-to-date flooding information. You can also sign up for flood warnings (opens new window) or check flood alerts here:

The GOV.UK website also offers useful information about: 

• preparing for flooding (opens new window)
• preparing your business for flooding (opens new window)
• making a personal flood plan (opens new window) 
• preparing your community (opens new window)

You may also find the following useful:

• Norfolk Strategic Flood Alliance: Be prepared for flooding (PDF) [124KB] (opens new window)  leaflet
• Norfolk County Council's Flood help and advice
• Norfolk County Council's Surface water management plans (opens new window)

Flood insurance

If you experience problems insuring your home because of the flood risk, you can now use a scheme designed to ensure affordable flood insurance is available to those homes at the highest risk of flooding (excluding issues arising from coastal erosion). This scheme is a joint Government and insurance industry initiative.

For more information about the scheme visit the Flood Re (opens new window) website, where you can watch a short video. You may also find the leaflet Making insurance available and affordable for homes affected by flooding (PDF) [154KB] (opens new window)  useful.

We do not normally supply sandbags although we may offer sand dumps to allow the public to fill a small number of their own bags if, following a severe flood warning, your area is in imminent danger of flooding.

Sandbags may be purchased from local builders merchants and DIY stores, although they are not the primary recommended way to protect your home. To see the latest list of flood protection products, please visit the National Flood Forum (opens new window) and Blue Pages (opens new window).

Before you buy any flood protection please check with your supplier that the item will be effective in your local situation, especially if purchasing 'magic' self-inflatable sandbags, as their performance can be adversely affected by salty water.