FloodSax alternative sandbags protecting homes at Whalley near Clitheroe in Lancashire during Storm Ciara

Will the Government’s big boost for projects to prevent flooding be enough after one of the wettest years on record?

The year 2019 will go down as one of the worst for flooding and all the trauma and misery it brought.

Figures reveal there were more than 5,600 flood warnings in England in 2019, more than in any of the last 15 years, except 2012.

In his recent budget, chancellor of the exchequer Rishi Sunak pledged to double capital spending on floods from £2.6bn to £5.2bn for the 6-year period ending in 2021 which the government said would protect an additional 330,000 homes.

But the Guardian says a large amount of that will be spent maintaining existing flood defences and other routine anti-flooding tasks. Many defences were damaged by the winter storms Ciara and Dennis.

Hannah Cloke, a professor of hydrology at the University of Reading, told the Guardian: “We do need the government to pay to repair defences that have been battered and breached by some of the wettest winter weather we’ve seen. The Environment Agency do a good job on this, but could do so much more if they were better funded.”

That’s why it’s important everyone takes responsibility to protect their homes and businesses from flooding.

Homeowners and businesses often don’t realise that councils have no responsibility to provide sandbags if flooding is expected. They must protect themselves to avoid the terrible misery of flooding and one way to do this is to have FloodSax alternative sandbags which are space-saving to store and easy to deploy. It means you have peace of mind and are ready for action 24/7 to prevent a flood.

Once FloodSax come into contact with water they inflate to weigh 20kg (44lbs) which makes them more effective than traditional sandbags at keeping floodwater out.

More than 2.5 million have now been sold worldwide.