Flooding in Kingston

• Home
• Community, People and Living
• Emergencies
• Flooding in Kingston

Flooding is a naturally occurring event that requires effective advanced planning in order to minimise the impact on our lives. Flooding can cause risk to people, homes and businesses. The borough of Kingston has experienced flooding in its past and will experience flooding in the future.  The borough experienced severe flooding as recently as July 2007.

The borough of Kingston has three main watercourses in the Thames, Hogsmill and Beverley Brook rivers. Flooding can occur when water levels rise above the banks of these watercourses. The risk to life is low as the depths and velocities predicted for floods in Kingston are relatively mild. Additionally, river flooding can be fairly accurately forecast. This gives time for people to be warned. Warnings of flooding of the Thames will usually go out over 18 hours before flooding. Flooding to the Hogsmill and Beverley Brook will have shorter warning times due to their urban dominated catchments.

Flooding can also occur as a result of local drainage issues. Surface water flooding occurs when the amount of water falling as rain exceeds the rate at which it drains away. The sewer system is designed to drain rainwater, however in London the capacity for this is relatively low and capacity can be overloaded in big storms. Much of the damage that the 2007 floods caused was due to surface water flooding.

Information Available to You From The Environment Agency

Preparation is key to ensuring that flooding poses as little risk as possible to safety and property. The Environment Agency holds the responsibility of alerting the public about upcoming threats from river flooding. The Environment Agency produces flood maps, advise councils on river and flood related issues and maintain flood defences. To be aware of the flood risk you are under, visit the Environment Agency pages linked at the bottom of the page.

In November 2010 the Environment Agency changed its flood warning codes. There are three warnings that you can receive.

Warning Image	Warning Type	Description
	Flood Alert	Indicates that flooding is possible and that people should make some preparations and remain vigilant.
	Flood Warning	Indicates that flooding of homes and businesses is expected and people should act to reduce the impact of the flood.
	Severe Flood Warning	Used in extreme circumstances to tell people that flooding poses a significant risk to life.

It is important to know the threat of flooding in your location. This is easily known through use of the Environment Agency's 'Check your area' tool.

Floodline is a free service run by the Environment Agency. Signing up to Floodline allows you to receive warnings by phone, text or email. You are strongly recommended to sign up for flood warnings.

It is important to know how to react in different situations during a flood. Assembling a personal flood plan is an effective way of doing this. See the links below to find Environment Agency guidance on how to do so.

Kingston Borough Preparation

We have a number of documents and plans relating to flooding. Whilst the Environment Agency delivers advice to the public, it is our responsibility to ensure that all relevant organisations and people will provide a coordinated response to any flooding emergency. Additionally, we compile a borough wide assessment of flooding risk which is aimed at multiple users including developers, planners, highway maintenance and the public.

The borough's Emergency Planning department coordinate the emergency response to flooding. It is vital that key all key authorities and staff know what is required of them in the event of an emergency, including flooding. The department oversees emergency plans, advises key responders and sets up practice emergency exercises, all of which prepare the borough for major emergencies.

Planning policy must incorporate knowledge of flood risk to ensure that development in the borough does not increase the threat from flooding. Our Strategic Flood Risk Assessment allows a large scale assessment of risk from flooding.