What to Do During Flooding and Heavy Rainfall in Shaftesbury
While Shaftesbury is a hilltop town, there are areas of the town that can be affected by heavy rainfall and flooding. This page provides official flooding and heavy rainfall advice for Shaftesbury, including how to stay informed, who to contact in an emergency, and how to report flooding.
Stay up to date on the latest flood warnings.
Who can you contact about flooding?
In an emergency, dial 999 if life is in danger.
- Floodline 24-hours 0345 9881188 for flood warnings and advice.
- Environment Agency 24-hour incident hotline 0800 807060 Report flooding from main rivers,
damage to river banks and blockages causing flood risk. - Dorset Council
- Wessex Water Customer contact number and to report 0345 6004600
sewage flooding. - National Flood Forum 01299 403055
- Association of British Insurers 0207 600 3333
- British Damage Management Association 01858 414278
- Electricity supplier 105 powercut
- Gas supplier 0800 111999 / 105 powercut
- British Red Cross 0344 871 1111
- Samaritans 020 8394 8300
Flood Advice
After a flood
Please view the Environment Agency Flood Recovery guide for recommended recovery actions that anyone affected can take. This includes information on insurance and cleaning up.
Reporting Flooding
Please remember to report flooding to the Environment Agency as soon as you can if your home or business has flooded. We understand it is a difficult time when people are affected by flooding however, we would encourage those affected to report property flooding as close to the event as possible: https://www.gov.uk/report-flood-cause
Environment Agency Incident Hotline 0800 80 70 60
Reporting flooding helps the Environment Agency to understand the impacts on properties or communities and prioritise their response. By gathering information, specific issues impacting residents and communities are identified and recurring issues highlighted. The evidence from flood reporting is crucial in planning effective maintenance and justifying business cases for potential long-term solutions.
Once affected residents are able, we ask that they please submit a full report to floodreport.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/. This tool is available for residents across Wessex (the service is hosted by Dorset Council but is available for other local authority areas). The information provided is then shared with the risk management authorities to ensure it goes to the correct organisation depending on the source and impact of flooding. If the portal opens on the wrong FORT region, don’t worry, you will be redirected when you identify a property affected.
Businesses
Businesses are also affected by flooding, with impacts not only on property but on livelihoods and the wider community. Flood Mary has produced a Business Flood Handbook, and The Flood Hub also has resources about business resilience and recovery.
Please direct your enquiries to the local customers and engagement team.
For enquiries related to Flood Warnings, preparedness, and resilience, you can contact the Flood Resilience team.