Many home owners and businesses in Scotland know first hand that suffering a major flood can be one of the most dramatic and traumatic occurrences they will face.

To help those homes and businesses prepare themselves to deal with floods, a new public information service on flooding - Floodline 0845 988 1188 - is being established in Scotland by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA). The service will be switched on officially in Perth by Minister for the Environment and Rural Affairs, Ross Finnie MSP on Thursday 1 November.

The Floodline service, developed over several years in England and Wales by the Environment Agency, proved its value during floods south of the border in 2000 when as many as 500,000 calls were dealt with in a ten day period.

Floodline will now provide the public throughout Scotland with the facility to check on possible risk of flooding in their area and to get practical advice on how to reduce the impact of floods when they do strike.

Tricia Henton, Chief Executive of SEPA, said “Flooding can have a devastating effect on both homes and businesses. In some areas prone to flooding, engineering works may reduce the likelihood of such an event but flooding is a natural process resulting from a combination of factors and it will always remain a threat. Floodline has been set up to give people as much notice as possible and to encourage them to take action to protect their most precious possessions.

“Experience in England and Wales has shown that increased public awareness of flood risks and what can be done to prepare for floods can reduce the financial and emotional impact of flooding. Now, for the price of a local call at any time of day or night, people can obtain information to help them be more prepared.

“The possible effects of climate change in the future are of growing concern. There may be significantly more flooding in Scotland than has been experienced in the past and Floodline is part of the response to that increased risk.”

Floodline information packs, with handy tips and advice, are available from Floodline 0845 988 1188. {NB this service available from 1 November}. Alternatively, the information is available online from www.sepa.org.uk {the website is live now}

ENDS

Notes to Editors

• A general ‘Flood Watch’ service, providing general flood alerts covering wide areas of the country, will be available to the whole of Scotland. In some areas, where there is an established flood warning scheme, more detailed flood warnings will be available. SEPA runs 42 such flood warning schemes in Scotland.
  
  
• The Scottish Floodline service will be supported by a new 24-hour, all year round communications centre run by SEPA in Perth. This will also be used in the co-ordination of SEPA activities in response to other major environmental incidents.