flood risks to your home

<p>What do you think of when you think of flooding? Most people think of what we seem to be seeing more of in the media such as rivers overflowing and high tides hitting coastlines. However most people do not seem to be aware of other types of flooding that can affect people’s homes and people’s lives regardless of whether they live near a river, lake or coastline.</p> <p>One type of flooding is called Surface Water Flooding, sometimes called flash-flooding. This type of flooding is one of the most common types of flooding where heavy rainfall can overload our sewer and drainage systems and lead to flooding occurring rapidly and catching people unaware. This type of flooding is more likely to occur in urban areas where there concrete surfaces do not allow water to soak into the ground and therefore all the water flows into the drains altogether at a rate at which that the drains are not prepared for.</p> <p>Another type of flooding is called Groundwater Flooding which is where the make-up of the geology in certain areas of the UK mean these areas are less likely to absorb water slowly after rainfall or where rivers overflow because the constitution of the rocks that form the ground are made up of non-absorbant rocks. These areas, such as parts of London and the South-East are more affected by flooding in times of heavy rainfall or when a river overflows. Therefore some types of flooding have a greater or lesser impact on a particular area depending on whether it is vulnerable to other lesser known types of flooding.</p> <p>We may all remember last year (2012) when we were told that it was one of the wettest years. Accordng to records, 2012 was the second wettest year since records began. In first place was 2000, in third place was 1954, fourth goes to 2008 and fifth place goes to 2002. It appears to be the case that flooding is going to affect us more and more in the future.</p> <p>It is obvious that flooding presents a clear danger to homes and sometimes people’s lives. But flooding can also affect people’s pockets. As flooding seems to be becoming more frequent and continues to hits the headlines, so insurers are picking up on this and we’re seeing insurers increasing buildings insurance premiums, insisting on high excesses or excluding insurance for flooding altogether.</p> <p>Here at Douglas Wemyss we have been aware of the impact flooding can have for some time and as a matter of practice we always recommend to our buying clients to purchase environmental searches which can reveal flood risks as well as many other potential risks that can affect people’s health as well as the value of property, land and insurance premiums.</p> <p>We here at Douglas Wemyss Solicitors give considerable importance to our client’s physical and financial welfare. If you are looking to purchase a property please do contact us on (0116) 2999199</p>