When Storm Babet hit the town of Trowell in Nottingham in 2023, Claire Sneddon felt confident her home would not be affected.
After all, when she bought the property in 2021, she was told by the estate agent that a previous flood the year before, which had reached but not effected the property, was a once-in-a-lifetime event, and that flooding measures to protect the properties on the cul-de-sac would be put in place.
However, when Storm Babet tore through the UK two years later, Ms Sneddon’s home flooded after several days of rain.
“We knew there would be water on the cul-de-sac but no one expected it to flood internally again. However, water entered the property for five hours,” she said.
“It reached to the top of the skirting boards. We had to have all the flooring, woodwork and lower kitchen replaced, which took nearly 12 months.”
Their final insurance bill was around £45,000.
She says they were fortunate to have qualified for a government scheme providing affordable insurance for homeowners in areas of high-flood risk.
Although she loves the area, her neighbours and the house, the weather is now a cause of stress. “We constantly worry about the weather, if it is going to rain longer than a couple of days or there is a named storm.
“We do wish we had taken more steps to understand the risk. The survey showed that the property was in a medium flood zone but there wasn’t much detail other than flood zone maps.”