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Accidents, Emergencies and Safety

Flood support funding

Properties flooded during Storm Henk 2-8 January 2024

Following Storm Henk the Government have announced financial support for flooded residents and businesses. These Government schemes will be administered by Worcester City Council. 

Subject to eligibility, the following assistance is available for properties flooded or unliveable for at least 48 hrs as a direct result of Storm Henk, between the dates of 2 January 2024 and 8 January 2024. 

Flooded means water in habitable areas of the property, not garages, cellars or outbuildings. 

Note:

  • Residential properties are eligible for grants from Storm Henk even if they received a grant following Storm Babet (October 2023) as long as the residents were back in their property ahead of Storm Henk
  • Businesses are eligible for grants from Storm Henk even if they received one following Storm Babet. Businesses are eligible as long as they were trading again ahead of Storm Henk, but only if the business property was flooded. Businesses that were cut off and unable to trade but weren’t flooded on the premises are not eligible for this round of grant support.

Unliveable includes where access to the property was severely restricted, sewerage water or power was severely affected.

  1. Community Recovery Grant. £500 per property paid to the occupier.
  2. Council Tax discount for 3 months.

To make an application for a Community Recovery Grant and Council Tax discount, please complete the online application form.

If you have any queries or would like to request a paper copy of the form please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or telephone 01905 722500 and a member of the team will get back to you as soon as possible. Please ensure that your enquiry reaches us by 1 March 2024

  1. Business Support Grant. Up to £2500 for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs - businesses with less than 250 employees, turnover less than £42.85M or balance sheet less than £36.85M) directly or indirectly affected by the flooding.
  2. Business Rates discount for 3 months for businesses that were flooded.

To make an enquiry regarding Business Support Grant or Business Rates discount please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Please ensure that your enquiry reaches us by 1 March 2024.

A small number of properties in the City may qualify for a Property Flood Resilience Grant of up to £5,000 towards measures to make the property more resilient to future flood events. This is only available for properties that have not previously benefitted from this grant. Further details on how to apply for this grant are below. Please ensure that your enquiry reaches us by 1 March 2024.

Please note that the support scheme relating to Storm Babet (October 2023) has now closed.

Property Flood Resilience Grant

For further details on the Property Flood Resilience Grant scheme, including eligibility and useful information on recommended works, surveyors and contractors please read the following:

  1. pdf How the scheme works (112 KB)
  2. pdf Property Flood Resilience Grant Guidance Note (92 KB)
  3. pdf List of example eligible measures (70 KB)
  4. pdf List of recommended surveyors and contractors (196 KB)
  5. For hard copies of these documents, or for any other queries about the scheme, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
  6. pdf Read stories of homes and businesses that have made adaptations (17.22 MB)  to help them recover more quickly after a flood.

Application process

To apply, please complete the initial application form below:

The following forms will need to be completed at a later stage, once your application is approved in principle.

Insurance

Flood Re is a joint initiative between the Government and insurers. Its aim is to make the flood cover part of household insurance policies more affordable. You can read about How Flood Reworks (pdf). It is important that people at high flood risk in Worcester shop around for the best insurance policy. For more information visit the Flood Re website.

A loss adjuster is someone who is employed by an insurance company to decide how much money should be paid to a person making a claim.

A loss assessor is someone appointed by a policy-holder to manage a claim on their behalf.

Advice from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) about flooding resilience and on working through the insurance system after a flood:

Clean-up

If your home or property has been flooded it could be contaminated by oil, silt and sewage. This will need to be carefully and completely cleaned up to remove any health risks.

Contact your GP immediately if you think your health has been affected.

The Environment Agency has information about cleaning your house as well as details of organisations that can help you do this. National Health England also has a useful leaflet on how to clean up after a flood (PDF).

If you are worried about the security of your property call West Mercia Police.

Reusing and disposing of sandbags

Dry out sandbags and store them in a shed, garage or undercover so you can use them again. If you cannot store them, open them up and spread the sand on your garden if you have one. You can then treat the sacks as normal waste. If the sand or bags are contaminated, please dispose of them responsibly.

Emotional support

Having a flooded home is very stressful. If you need emotional support, contact family and friends, your doctor or an organisation like the Red Cross or the Samaritans.

Public Health England also offers a guide to mental wellbeing after a flood.

 
 
 
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