Visiting Hadleigh Sluice Gates, October 2025; October 2024.
South Suffolk faces potential flooding from several sources such as rivers, the sea, surface water, and groundwater. It is therefore essential that constituents and businesses are informed on the matter, and are ready to respond should flooding occur.
Issues of flood risk in Suffolk are split between Suffolk County Council and the Environment Agency. Please find below a range of resources and information answering key questions related to the matter of flooding.
When do I know that there is a risk of flooding in my area?
- You can firstly check for flooding here.
- When flooding is likely, the Environment Agency also issues flood alerts and warnings for main rivers flooding, through TV and local radio.
- You can register to receive free floods warnings by phone, text or email. These warnings will tell you when there is a potential for flooding from rivers, the sea or groundwater. You can sign up here. Sign up for flood warnings - GOV.UK
- You can also view flood warnings set by the Environment Agency, or get advice and information via Floodline on 0345 988 1188.
What should I do in the circumstance of flooding in my home or business?
- If there is any risk of danger to people, property or the environment as a result of flooding call 999.
- If you don't think your flood is an emergency you can report it to Suffolk County Council online.
- Information on which service you might need and guidance on how to report this, can be found on Suffolk County Councils website here. Alongside this, if you need to contact customer service for further support, they have a live chat open between 9:30 to 16:30 Monday to Friday.
What other information is available?
- Sign up to the National Flood Forum bulletin to receive their bi-monthly bulletin. Checklist & Action Plan – National Flood Forum
- You can find a leaflet from the National Flood Forum here. This leaflet provides information and advice on how to prepare for a flood, what to do during a flood, and what to do after a flood.
- Flood smart living is a guide to support local Suffolk communities at risk of flooding. It provides a range of measures that could be implemented, targeted at your catchment, your community and your home, providing useful advice and guidance to enable you to take the next step in becoming resilient to flooding.
- Guidance for property owners on flood resistance can be found here.
- The Suffolk Resilience Forum also contains the plans that the county has in place in the event of major flooding.
Below attachments:
Letter from the Environment Agency with regards to the sluice gates in Hadleigh - January 2025
Environment Agency latest Hadleigh update - September 2025.
