Flood Re urges London households to “ReThink” flood risk as 6.3 million properties face threat nationally
Flood Re is calling on households to rethink how they prepare for flooding as it takes its national resilience campaign to communities across the country during Flood Action Week.
The latest national flood risk assessment estimates that 6.3 million properties in England are in areas at risk of flooding, with that figure expected to rise to around 8 million by 2050.[1]
Against this backdrop, Flood Re’s ReThink tour will use the UK’s largest digital advertising van to show the impact that flooding can have on people’s lives and highlight practical steps that households can take to make their homes more resilient.
The van will visit Marble Arch today as part of a tour taking on London, Nottingham, Hull and Carlisle during Flood Action Week.
Following its unveiling in Liverpool earlier this year, the van will display educational videos using 3D anamorphic visual illusions to bring to life the emotional impact of flooding, which can continue long after the immediate damage has been dealt with. The content will also direct people towards practical advice on preparing their homes and reducing the impact if flooding does happen.
The campaign will highlight measures that households can take, from protections such as flood doors and airbrick covers to internal changes that mean homes recover after flooding.
Surface water flooding is a growing part of the risk facing households. It occurs when heavy rainfall overwhelms local drainage and can affect communities well beyond rivers and coastlines. The National Flood Risk Assessment identifies low-depth surface water flooding as the fastest-growing flood risk facing households.
Flood Re experts will travel alongside the van to speak to communities about understanding their flood risk and the steps that they can take to become more resilient. They will also provide information about Flood Re’s Build Back Better initiative, which helps eligible households install property flood resilience measures when repairing their homes after a flood.
The ReThink campaign comes ahead of the April 2027 launch of BeFloodReady, a new national platform being developed to give people clear, practical and impartial guidance on preparing for flooding and recovering when it happens.
Kelly Ostler-Coyle, Director of Corporate Affairs at Flood Re, said: “Flooding is devastating for the people who experience it and the impact can continue long after the water has gone. With millions of homes already in areas at risk, we want Flood Action Week to get more people thinking about what they can do before flooding happens.
There are practical steps that can make a real difference, but too many people only start thinking about them when bad weather is already on the way. Our ReThink tour is about taking that message into communities and making flood resilience easier to understand and act on.”
