Kim Stoddart and Sally Morgan explain how to deal with the risk of flooding
Rainfall patterns are changing. Many places have experienced record-breaking wet years. We are unfortunately likely to experience more extreme rainfall events with more heavy, monsoon-like downpours as our planet warms.
Why does a garden flood?
Water levels can rise very quickly after heavy rain. A stream can quickly become a torrent. Even small changes, such as a blocked drain or culvert, can lead to flooding. Extensions to buildings, new walls and garages can block the path that water used to take and cause problems as well. So after a heavy deluge, water had nowhere to go and floods the ground in front of the new wall. Your garden may simply be lower than others, or located at the bottom of a hill, so water flows in. Ultimately, your garden may flood because after heavy rain your surrounding area simply can’t cope with the volume of water.
Your garden is at risk of flooding - what do you do?
It has been raining heavily for a week and you are sent an alert that your home lies in an area that is expected to flood.
Local authorities may distribute sandbags around at-risk areas, but if you live in a water-vulnerable location, it may be wise to have your own stockpile of sandbags and flood boards on hand. You can use them to protect areas such as the base of a greenhouse and its glass panels, or to direct water away from a weak wall. Flood boards can also be positioned across a gate to prevent floodwater from entering a garden.
If you have time, you can also prepare by doing the following:
Lift pots, bags of soil and compost and equipment off the floor of the greenhouse, garage and shed.
Place more valuable equipment, such as a lawnmower onto pallets.
Unplug electrical equipment, such as heaters, lights and pond pumps.
Turn off the water supply to your garden Make sure containers of fuel, oil and any pesticides you might have are placed on shelves out of reach of floodwaters and that gas cylinder valves
