Fear Of Flooding - Water Damage Is £Billion Threat

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11 June 2019 | Updated 08 October 2019

Property owners must prepare for the worst is the latest stark warning from the UK Environment Agency, which suggests that £1 billion a year might be needed to be spent on flood management.

Insurance statistics reveal that the most likely cause of claims in commercial buildings, retail premises, hotels and apartment blocks is water damage. UK insurers confirm that water leakage is now the costliest and most common claim made by commercial customers with a total loss in the UK alone approaching £800 million.

Data centres

The financial sector is particularly vulnerable to such potential losses with Data Centre outages costing an average of £12,000 per minute, hourly losses on the Stock Exchange around £4.5 million and Credit Card Clearance around £1.8 million.

An Environment Agency (EA) spokesperson said: "Water leakage damage costs alone can be significant and it is not just the obvious cost of physical damage to IT equipment and the fabric of the building, as even a minor water leak can result in significant business interruption including temporary relocation, increased employment costs and loss of profits."

5-day flood risk for England and Wales

Following the torrential rain that affected large parts of the UK which caused a flooding concerns, the EA has updated its 5-day flood risk assessment for England and Wales as of 10:30am on Wednesday June 12 through to  Sunday June 16.

Flooding from surface water and rivers was possible but not expected across parts of north, central and east England and Wales on Wednesday through Thursday morning. Properties, land and roads may flood and there could be travel disruption. Localised surface water flooding was also possible across the south-east of England on Wednesday afternoon. Some properties may flood and flooding of land and roads could lead to local travel disruption. Ongoing local river flooding is then probable for central England on Friday and possible into the weekend.

Picture: With thanks to Vimpex, makers of the Hydrosense water detection system. Vimpex Hydrosense will be on show at Firex International on Stand FX940 - 18-20 June, Excel, London.

Article written by Brian Shillibeer | Published 11 June 2019

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