We tend to only think of flooding caused by rain so you won’t believe just how many different types of flooding there are and just how much they can damage your home or business.
Around one in 6 homes are now at risk from flooding across the UK. Even if a property that has never flooded in the past can be at risk and it doesn’t need to be near a river, the sea or even in low lying areas.
Climate change means there is likely to be more flooding in the future putting even more homes and businesses at risk.
So here are the 7 main types of flooding – river flooding, flash flooding, surface water flooding, groundwater flooding, sewer flooding, reservoir flooding and coastal flooding which is why so many homes and businesses across the UK have FloodSax alternative sandbags to give them vital flood protection 24/7 because they are so space-saving to store and easy to deploy.
Here are the descriptions for each type of flooding from Floodguidance.co.uk
River flooding happens when they overflow their banks and around 2 million properties could be affected as housing has been built on natural floodplains. It is often fast flowing due to currents from the river itself. Just 30cms of fast flowing floodwater can move a car.
Flash flooding is usually unexpected and caused by sudden heavy rainfall and can be worse in urban areas where large concrete areas prevent the rainwater being absorbed naturally into the ground.
Surface water flooding is also known as pluvial flooding and happens when it rains so hard that excess water can’t drain away. It can be caused by water running off roads at such a pace that the drains simply can’t cope.
Groundwater flooding puts a few hundred thousand UK properties at risk by water seeping up from the water table through the ground caused by prolonged periods of rainfall causing underground water levels to rise above their normal levels and reach the surface.
Sewer flooding happens after a failure in the sewage system or following one of the other flood types where the amount of water is too much for the sewer system to cope with and they overflow. It is potentially dangerous due to the high levels of bacteria that can spread.
Reservoir flooding is extremely rare in the UK due to very strict regulations and mandatory assessments and if a reservoir dam collapses the results can be catastrophic. This almost happened recently at the Toddbrook reservoir above the town of Whaley Bridge in the High peak district of Derbyshire.
Coastal flooding happens when coastal land is flooded by sea water from heavy storms and extreme weather conditions that cause a higher tide.