What to do after a flood

Clearing up after flooding

• If necessary, contact the Department of Infrastructure or Fire Service for assistance. Companies which may be able to help with cleaning up can be found in the ‘Yellow Pages’.
• Open doors and windows to ventilate your property, but take care to ensure any valuables are secure.
• Contact your electrician and plumber to check your electricity, water and gas services are safe to turn on again. Wash water taps and run them for several minutes before use.
• Throw away any foodstuffs which may have been in contact with flood water.
• Call your insurance company as soon as possible and keep a record of flood damage (perhaps with photographs or video).

Health precautions

• Flood water can often contain sewage (although usually in dilute form).
• Wash hands after exposure to flood water and decontaminate footwear by washing and treating with a mild disinfectant.
• Keep children and pets away from any contaminated areas.
• Remove as much flood water as possible (by pumping or sweeping, as appropriate), apply a mild disinfectant and allow to dry.
• However, disinfectant should not normally be applied to gardens (as it can kill plants). Also, gardens should not be hosed down, dug over or raked (as this will spread contamination further into the ground and prolong the life of bacteria - UV radiation in sunlight is very effective in killing bacteria).

Report flooding incidents

If you experience flooding from any source (such as rivers, roads, sewers, fields) in or around your property Manx Utilities would like to hear from you.

Please fill out the flood reporting form. This helps to build a better picture of where flooding occurs across the Island. Please note: the information you provide is purely for Manx Utilities records to help improve our indicative flood maps.