Two-fifths of London businesses at risk of flash flooding

Parts of London are already experiencing flash flooding after this week’s thunderstorms, with more rainfall forecast in the coming days and weeks.

Zurich’s research has shown that flooding from torrential rain threatens 42% of the capital’s 301,000 commercial buildings, while nearly half of London’s 33,200 basements in commercial use are at risk of flooding.

Paul Redington, regional major loss property claims manager, Zurich UK, said: “Flooding now poses a serious threat to the capital’s homes and businesses, especially after the severe heatwave we have experienced in recent weeks.

“More frequent and severe rainstorms could be the new normal in the coming years, and businesses will need to adapt. Firms should assess their risks and have plans in place to respond if they are affected.”

Plan

For clients in a flood prone area, the best thing to do is to is advise them to prepare a flood plan, according to Zurich, they have crucial information to hand, such as key locations for electricity cut off, and a list of actions if flood is imminent, such as moving stock or computer servers.

In addition to this, the insurer advised to create a business continuity plan to make sure clients factor in climate shocks such as floods. It also suggested to working with experts to identify how current and future climate change could impact the operations of business.

Most importantly, Zurich encouraged brokers to ensure clients check their flood risk, it stated: It detailed: “Whether you’ve operated from the same location for years, or recently moved in, assess the long-term flood risk in your area and sign up for flood warnings.”

Methodology

The research conducted measured each commercial unit in London by its Unique property Reference Number. For each unit, the presence of a basement was found by using inspection data from the Valuation Office Agency.

The unit of information was then aggregated to a building level using the Parent Unique Property Reference Number. This gave the number of buildings in London which are used for commercial use and whether these buildings had a basement.

Lastly, the flood scores were applied to the building. The resulting data was then aggregated to give summaries by London Borough.

Which showed that Kensington and Chelsea have the highest percentage of commercial buildings at risk of flash flooding at 63%.

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