RICS relaunches updated consumer flooding guide amid climate change impact on extreme weather events

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) launched its refreshed popular consumer guide on flooding amid reports that extreme flooding could become more common in the UK due to the effects of climate change.

The publication is a detailed and accessible guide for home owners, helping them amongst other things to identify flood risks to their property. Other topics include:
Checking if a property is at risk of floodingPreparing for a floodCreating a flood emergency planRecovery and what happens after the flood.

The guide also explains where to get professional advice on flood resilience measures (to ensure your property can cope with a flood) from accredited surveyors regulated by RICS and adhering to its strict code of conduct.

According to the UK Government, flood damage costs totalled around £333 million between November 2019 and March 2020 and would have cost an additional £2.1 billion without flood defences.

RICS is also releasing a companion guide titled Reinstating your boundary after extreme weather damage. This guide tells you what steps to take to reinstate a boundary following extreme weather events such as fire, flood or storm damage and where you can go for advice.

RICS member and Chartered Environmental Surveyor, Philip Wilbourn, said of the flooding consumer guide: "This timely guide will help homeowners prepare as best they can for extreme weather events, which unfortunately are becoming more common and severe due to climate change.

"Flooding has an enormous impact on people's lives, and while we try and mitigate the effects of climate change, consumers should be as best-prepared as possible if a flood hits. Being unprepared can not only cause significant damage but impact on peoples physical and mental wellbeing.”

"Good preparation also means that consumers affected by flooding can get their property back in its original condition as soon as possible, limiting the potentially devastating impact that floods can bring."

RICS advises that these free expert guides will assist the public in understanding their property's risk of flooding, help establish a plan of action, and educate them on how best to prepare for such an event and the full range of potential impacts.

-ENDS-
 
Notes for editors:

The RICS Consumer Flooding guide may be found at this link.

About RICS

We are RICS. Everything we do is designed to effect positive change in the built and natural environments. Through our respected global standards, leading professional progression and our trusted data and insight, we promote and enforce the highest professional standards in the development and management of land, real estate, construction and infrastructure.

Our work with others provides a foundation for confident markets, pioneers better places to live and work and is a force for positive social impact.

For more information:

Kris Hicks
khicks@rics.org

Rebecca Hunt
rhunt@rics.org