Amber Valley was placed under an Amber weather warning on Friday 20 October 2023 which lasted until the early hours of Saturday morning. Many homes and businesses were affected by unprecedented rain which caused rivers and canals to burst their banks in the area, with the highest recorded levels of water at locations throughout Derbyshire.
Properties were flooded in some communities which resulted in the evacuation of some of our residents in Amber Valley.
Our Storm Babet page details what recovery and clean-up actions we're taking, support available, and the latest guidance.
Derbyshire County Council are the lead local flood authority who is responsible for coordinating a response via local authorities and the emergency services during a major flood event.
Amber Valley Borough Council would like to remind residents of the necessary steps they can take in order to cope with and be prepared for flooding and the assistance the council and other organisations can give.
Find out more using the links below:
The most important thing is to prepare now. Don't wait until flooding looks likely as you won’t have time to respond.
You can find details of flood protection equipment from National Flood Forum Blue Pages.
Sandbags are available from builders’ merchants. Other protection systems are available commercially, see the National Flood Forum Blue Pages for guidance.
Residents of Amber Valley may obtain a supply of 10 free empty sandbags and guidance literature from the Ripley office.
The council recognises that many residents look to the council for emergency assistance in times of crisis, therefore aims to provide a limited number of free filled sandbags where there is an immediate risk of flooding. This is in line with the Derbyshire wide sandbag policy and is based on an assessment of risk. The assessment will consider:
This service is subject to the availability of staff out of hours, please call 01773 841414 out of hours.
Find out if your property is deemed at risk of flooding by calling Floodline on 0345 988 1188 or visit the Environment Agency website and entering your postcode to see the risk of flooding in your area.
Residents should check their flood risk and sign up for free flood warnings to stay up-to-date.
If local roadside drains or culvert screens appear blocked, please report this to the Derbyshire County Council highways department.
When flood alerts or severe weather warnings are issued, residents living in areas deemed at risk of flooding can call Amber Valley Borough Council to request free filled sandbags, however these will only be issued in line with the agreed sandbag policy. In emergency situations no guarantees can be made in terms of how soon sandbags can be sent out as staff may need to be called in (especially out of office hours) to fill sandbags. This is a very heavy, time-consuming job and dependent upon flooded road conditions detours may need to be taken to deliver the bags. Only small numbers of sandbags are stored already filled as the bags will rot if stored full. As such it is strongly advised you equip yourself with sandbags before any risk of flooding arises.
Derbyshire County Council is the lead local flood authority and is responsible for coordinating a response by local authorities and the emergency services during a major flood event.
The latest flooding information for the county will be posted on Derbyshire County Council's latest flood update page.
If you are a food business affected by flooding, please see our further guidance page in our food safety section.
Contact the team directly on 01773 570222 or email enquiry@ambervalley.gov.uk
