Flooding

The Isle of Wight is fortunate in that it has not experienced major flooding in recent history, although flash floods have seriously affected most parts of the Island over the recent years
The most common sources of flooding are:
  • Fluvial flooding which occurs when a watercourse cannot cope with the water draining into it from the surrounding land primarily around rivers. This can happen, for example, when heavy rain falls on an already waterlogged catchment.
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  • Coastal flooding that results from a combination of high tides and stormy conditions. If low atmospheric pressure coincides with a high tide, a tidal surge may happen which can cause serious flooding.
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  • Surface water flooding (or pluvial flooding) which occurs when heavy rainfall overwhelms the drainage capacity of the local area.  It is difficult to predict and pinpoint, much more so than river or coastal flooding.
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Photo courtesy of the IW County Press.
Picture by Jennifer Burton

If there are any reports of serious incidents of flooding the Emergency Management Team will co-ordinate the Council’s response and liaise with the Fire & Rescue Service and the Environment Agency.
It is not the Council’s responsibility to protect individual homes, householders need to take responsibility.


Prepare for Flooding


Prepare for flooding by following some simple steps. Sign up for free flood warnings via the Environment agency (link and information below), find out ways to reduce the impact of flooding to your home and make a flood plan.
Download your personal flood plan template here

Download a flood plan pack for communities and groups here

You can obtain information from the following guides and links to various websites giving advice in ensuring that you are prepared to deal with flooding.

  • Sign up for Floodline Warnings Direct Floodline Warnings Direct is a free service that provides flood warnings direct to you by telephone, mobile text or email. You can also sign up for Floodline Warnings Direct by calling Floodline on 0845 988 1188.

The Island Resilience Forum has produced a Multi Agency Flood Response Plan which provides a framework for the response to floods on the Island along with accompanying Technical Information, which contains a summary of useful flood risk information for emergency responders.


Provision of Sandbags


In an Emergency, the Isle of Wight Council will, where possible, endeavour to assist by issuing sandbags. These are provided primarily, to stop the flooding of properties by water running off the highway.

However, it is your responsibility to protect your property. Sandbags can be purchased directly from the following outlets:

JA Dempsey 01983 403021

To request sandbags, call the Council’s Highways department on:

01983 823777 during normal office hours
01983 525121 out of hours - ask for highways department



Page last updated on: 29/11/2012