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Floods spell wash out for businesses: How to turn the tides

When we think of floods we tend to focus our gaze towards the public and their homely plights which is only one aspect of a much broader problem. Business owners also find themselves in equally deep waters, which in many cases is (sadly) irrevocable. 

According to an article written by The Guardian, UK floods cost small firms around £830m as a result of "reduced demand for goods and services, transport disruptions and staff absences." These startlingly high figures were made public by the Federation of Small Businesses or FSB. They also believe that the average cost for each business in a flood-hit area was £1,531. 

Safeguarding smaller businesses in the wake of floods or other environmental disasters should be made a government priority. John Allan on behalf of the FSB echoed these sentiments saying "We want the government and the insurance industry to look again at the support they have in place for small businesses in flood-hit areas and see whether there is more help they can provide to ensure they have access to adequate and affordable insurance."

Business owners in the county of Surrey learnt just how destructive a flood can be last winter, when heavy rain caused three of their banks to burst. The onslaught of water managed to cause an incredible level of damage to both commercial and personal property.

To find out more about how the floods affected Surrey, please see the rest of our blog.

An important point to recognise would be that ‘prevention is (usually) the best cure,' a mightily bitter pill to swallow in hindsight but a god-send if your business is known to be at risk.

Turning the tides

Instead of just focusing purely on the aftermath of a flood, taking a more proactive approach will in turn help to stem the flow of damage and disruption. This section of the article looks at how businesses in general can protect their assets.

Ways to keep you drier in preparation for a flood:

  • Taking note of forewarnings from television, radio and online outlets could evidently prove the defining factor in how your business fares in this type of situation. Use this as a time to brief your staff and clients if need be.
  • Installing permanent or removable barriers to seal doors, windows and other easy areas such as toilets and drains.
  • If you're in the middle of building your business and are aware of the potential flood risks in your area, it may be beneficial to fit your business with flood resistant materials to reduce the damage if a flood does occur.

Implementing these flood-conscious changes will not only to help to protect your business but to also limit the extent of the damage and ensure you can get back up and running as quickly as possible.  However sometimes even with measures like these in place bad things can still happen that's why it's reassuring to know that Relko are here to help.

With over 40 years of collective industry knowhow (17 of which are in fire and flood restoration practices), make us a company you can trust to get the job done in the most effective, economic and eco-friendly way possible.

For more information regarding all of our services please feel free to contact us via the telephone numbers provided on our site.