Flood warning

The Be Ready flooding page describes a flood warning as the level issued "when flooding is expected", below a severe flood warning, which means there is a danger to life. Gov.uk's sign-up service says people can "get flood warnings from the Environment Agency if your home or organisation in England is at risk of flooding", that the service is free, and that messages cover flooding from rivers, the sea or groundwater depending on the area. Warnings are not available for surface water flooding, sometimes called flash flooding; for that gov.uk says to contact the local council.

To sign up for the first time you need an email address and a way to be contacted at any time of day or night, by call, text or email. People in Scotland and Wales sign up through SEPA and Natural Resources Wales, and Northern Ireland has flood maps on NI Direct instead. Floodline, on 0345 988 1188, can sign people up, update details or cancel an account in England, Scotland or Wales.

Current warnings for England are on the gov.uk check for flooding service, with river, sea, groundwater and rainfall levels and the flood risk for the next five days.