Flood and Storm Preparation Checklist

Who this is for

A list to work through and tick, then keep. It covers the paperwork worth having to hand, the jobs outside and around the building, and the notes to make afterwards. The items are headings for your own arrangements; the warnings, the advice and the instructions come from your own local authority and emergency services.

Households on a flood plain, near a watercourse or on an exposed coast, anyone who has been caught out once already, and people preparing a property they let or leave empty for stretches.

What this helps you track

• Which documents, references and numbers are written down and where
• What has been done outside and around the building, and when
• Where the barriers, pumps, torches and shut-offs are kept
• Who has been told, from neighbours to the insurer
• What to note down afterwards while it is still fresh

How to use it

1. Write the address, who prepared the list and the date at the top, along with the warning service or local authority page you actually watch.
2. Work down the lists and tick what is already done; cross out anything that does not apply to your property.
3. Add your own items on the blank lines — the airbrick that needs a cover, the gate that blows open, the neighbour who needs a knock.
4. Write the date in the margin against anything you had to arrange, so next time you know how long it took.
5. Keep the sheet where you will find it in a hurry, and print a fresh one each season; on screen, ticks save in your own browser and can be cleared for next time.
6. Follow the instructions of your own emergency services on the day — this sheet is the preparation, not the plan.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The online version keeps what you enter in your own browser and builds the completed PDF on your device.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

Does this tell me when to evacuate or what to do in a flood?

No, and deliberately so. What to do on the day comes from your own emergency services and local authority, who know the river, the road and the forecast. This sheet is for the preparation you do beforehand and the record you keep afterwards.

How much water or sandbagging do I need?

The sheet carries no quantity of anything, because that depends on the property, the risk and advice you get locally. There are lines for what you hold and where it is kept, in your own figures.

Is it only for flooding?

No. Roughly half the items are about wind and storm damage — aerials, fences, trees, bins, loose items and the roof — which affect far more properties than flooding does.

What should I photograph?

Whatever you would want to show an insurer, before and after. The property damage photo and evidence log numbers the pictures and records what each one shows.

Can I use it for a rented property?

Yes. Write the landlord or agent into the contacts list and note which items are theirs to arrange rather than yours.