Flooding in Southampton
Although 22.9% of Southampton is built on a flood plain, the city is currently
unlikely to be subject to the severe flooding experienced elsewhere.
Generally, flooding will only occur when serious weather events coincide with
high tides, which prevent rain water from the rivers Test and Itchen
discharging into Southampton Water. Areas potentially at risk include lowlying areas near the Itchen Basin – for example, Priory Street in St Denys.
Except in extreme events, no schools are likely to be in any danger of this
type of flooding.
However, surface water flooding is more of an issue in Southampton and
6,544 properties are currently at risk, so although schools are unlikely to be
directly affected, flooding may cause indirect problems.
Areas currently prone to flooding:
 Teboura Way/Romsey Road/Winchester Road junction
(Shirley/Maybush)
 Rolles Brook (Archers Road area)
 Millbrook Road (Central)
 Portsmouth Road/Manor Road South junction (Woolston)
 Western Esplanade/Southampton Central Station
 Monks Brook (Swaythling)
 Tanners Brook (Shirley, Coxford, Millbrook, Lordshill)
 Priory Street (St Denys)
 Riverside Park, Woodmill and Saltmead (Bitterne area)
 Parts of Northam and Redbridge
Schools can check with the Environment Agency to see if they or their
catchment area are at risk of a flood: http://www.environmentagency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/floods/31618.aspx
Likely issues:
Schools may face a number of issues as a result of flooding, which could
include:
 Suspension of buses, which may affect pupils’ ability to get to school
 Suspension of trains, which may affect the ability of some school or
Council staff to get to work; it may also affect pupils’ ability to get to
school
 Some children may experience flooding in their homes and require
alternative accommodation until work is complete. This may lead to
other problems, including issues around transport.
Preparing for flooding:
Although schools are unlikely to flood, it is possible that schools may have
pupils who are at risk of flooding. There are a number of ways that schools
can support pupils to prepare for flooding and other emergencies.
The Council’s Emergency Planning team can support schools to provide
emergency planning lessons on a range of issues including flooding and are
able to deliver lessons.
The Environment Agency can also give flood lessons:
http://www.environmentagency.gov.uk/news/117998.aspx?month=4&year=2010&coverage=Midlands
&sector=Flood
The Met Office offers a range of educational links:
http://search.metoffice.gov.uk/kbroker/metoffice/metoffice/search/search.lsim?
qt=education&sr=0&nh=10&cs=iso-88591&sc=metoffice&sm=0&sf=&ha=1030
It also provides advice on what to do in severe weather, including flooding:
http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/advice/index.html