Flood Advice and Sandbag Use

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Use of Sandbags

The Council does not currently have any sandbags available to residents, however they can be purchased at builders’ yards/merchants or do-it-yourself shops.

Sandbags will deteriorate if you do not store them correctly and then they would be useless if needed.  They are best stored off the ground, in a dry place and out of direct sunlight.  The sandbags work better if you tape down plastic sheets firsts (over gaps).

To seal doors, you should place empty bin bags around the bottom and sides of the door. Always leave a good overlap between the bin bags and use insulation tape to hold them in place.  Please note that bin bags and insulation tape will not be provided by Hyndburn Council. Place the sandbags on top of the bin bags and tread them into place.  Air vents can be sealed in a similar way. Do not forget to seal up other gaps like letterboxes, cat flaps, tumble drier vents, etc.

If water does get into your property, try to bail it out if you can.  To keep safe, turn off your electricity and gas supply.  When the level of floodwater is going down, contact your insurance company as they should be able to offer advice to reduce the amount of damage to your property and possessions.

Hyndburn Council is not legally required to give help during flooding but will help where possible according to the resources available. Very serious flooding, resulting in the need to evacuate houses and set up temporary accommodation, is covered by the Council’s Emergency Plan.

The most common type of protection against flooding is the use of sandbags.