Advice for residents – what to do before, during and after flooding

Denbighshire County Council is reminding residents to stay alert and take practical steps to protect themselves, their homes, and their communities in the event of flooding during the winter season.

County Voice has prepared a rundown of advice to help residents be on the front foot against the impact of any flooding across Denbighshire.

As we see more storms hit the county, flooding can happen quickly and with little warning. Being prepared before, during and after a flood can make a significant difference to safety and recovery after the event.

To prepare for potential flooding you can:

• Check your flood risk: Visit the Natural Resources Wales long-term flood risk maps to see if your property is in a flood risk area.
• Sign up for warnings: If you are at risk, sign up for automated flood warnings to get alerts as soon as possible.
• Review your insurance: Ensure your home and contents insurance includes flood cover. The Government and insurers’ initiative Flood Re can help make flood insurance more affordable.
• Make a personal flood plan: Include key contact details, insurance information, and a checklist of emergency actions. Store it safely in a waterproof folder.
• Prepare a flood kit: Include warm, waterproof clothing, medication, a torch, important documents, and essential supplies in case you need to evacuate.
• Consider protection products: Purchase sandbags or flood boards to block doorways and airbricks.

If flooding does happen following adverse weather and there is a flooded road or a blocked ditch in your area, let the Council know and we will take action to bring the problem under control.

Natural Resources Wales are responsible for issues involving coasts and major rivers. Welsh Water are responsible for sewers. Denbighshire County Council are responsible for surface water and small water courses.
For issues involving major rivers, please contact Natural Resources Wales on 0300 065 3000.
Please see this link below for details of major rivers
For flooding affecting sewers, including combined foul and surface water sewers , please contact Welsh Water on 0800 085 3968 or
For flooding to property or highways, contact Denbighshire County Council on 01824 706000.

Concerns over flooding in your area can also be made to Floodline on 0345 988 1188

If you live in a flood risk area and feel you would like to have a few sandbags at home to keep as a precaution to use in the event of a flood, you can buy sandbags from hardware or DIY stores. There are also other bespoke systems available to protect doorways and air bricks.

The Council does not provide sandbags to individual properties when there is a flood. Instead, we use sandbags mainly to protect groups of residents, for example by diverting the path of flowing water, and directing it towards gullies and manholes. This enables us to protect whole streets, whereas giving out sandbags to individual householders in a street would be a far less effective use of resources.

Communities can also work together to help local residents become more resilient to flooding.

Dyserth Flood Support Community Group was set up after historic flooding on Waterfall Road. The Council provided flood barriers through help from a Welsh Government grant, the funding criteria of which being they could only provide to a community group. Denbighshire County Council provided additional barriers in 2025.

Advice in setting up a local community flood action group is available from The National Flood Forum or contact Paul Owen on 01824 706872 / paul.owen@denbighshire.gov.uk

When a flood happens don't try to walk or drive through flood water. Six inches of fast flowing water can knock you off your feet, and two feet of water will float your car. There are a number of practical things you can do to help prevent damage to your home, including:

• Turn off your gas, electricity and water supplies
• Put plugs in sinks and weigh them down with heavy objects; plug water inlet pipes with towels or cloths, and disconnect any equipment that uses water, such as your washing machine. These steps will help to stop water from coming into the property
• Try to avoid contact with flood water if possible, because it may be contaminated
• Do not leave your home or enter flood water unless you are directly instructed to do so by the emergency services

Councillor Barry Mellor, Cabinet Lead Member for Highways and the Environment, said: “We will always work very closely with our partner agencies to do all we can to minimise the impact of any flooding events that occur across the county. We want our residents to stay safe and I would ask them to follow this important advice to prepare for potential flooding and if it does flood in your area please follow any information issued by us, Natural Resources Wales or the emergency services and also ask people to keep an eye on the weather forecasts, the media and social media for the latest advice and information”.

You can follow us on Facebook  to get updates during a flood event

For further information visit our flood advice web page.