The Floodline is the

flood warning A flood warning or flood alert is the task of making use of flood forecasts to make decisions about whether warnings should be issued to the general public or if previous warnings should be rescinded or retracted. The task of providing warning f ...

and information service used in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

to issue flood alerts and warnings to the public, emergency organisations and businesses. The system uses observed data from rain, river and coastal gauges, combined with weather forecasts to accurately predict the likelihood and timing of flooding. When flooding is predicted within an area, a message is issued through the Floodline service. It is operated by the

Environment Agency The Environment Agency (EA) is a non-departmental public body, established in 1996 and sponsored by the United Kingdom government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with responsibilities relating to the protection and enha ...

in England,

Natural Resources Wales Natural Resources Wales () is a Welsh Government sponsored body, which became operational from 1 April 2013, when it took over the management of the natural resources of Wales. It was formed from a merger of the Countryside Council for Wales, E ...

, and the

Scottish Environment Protection Agency The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA; ) is Scotland's Environmental regulation, environmental regulator and national flood forecasting, flood warning and strategic flood risk management authority.coastal flooding Coastal flooding occurs when dry and low-lying land is submerged (flooded) by seawater. The range of a coastal Flood, flooding is a result of the elevation of floodwater that penetrates the inland which is controlled by the topography of the coas ...

, but warning time may be as little as 2 hours. Flooding of low-lying land is expected. Flood Alerts are early warning messages about possible flooding. They prompt you to remain alert and vigilant and provide people with time to make early preparations for potential flooding. Flood Alerts are issued for geographically representative areas, usually matching Local Authority boundaries. They are generally 9am-5pm, 7 days a week. In exceptional circumstances, alerts may be issued outside these hours. *FLOOD WARNING: Flooding is expected, immediate action required.The target for these to be issued is 3–6 hours in advance of expected flooding. It may not be possible to give 3-hours notice in areas prone to rapid flooding or when water levels have escalated quicker than expected. Flooding is imminent. Immediate action is required, take measures to protect yourself and your property. They are issued 24 hours a day. *SEVERE FLOOD WARNING: Severe flooding, danger to life. These are issued whenever severe flooding is likely to cause significant risk to life, destruction of properties or local communities. Flooding is imminent and could pose a risk to life and cause significant disruption to essential services, such as water and electricity supplies. Prepare to evacuate and co-operate with the emergency services. These are issued 24 hours a day. *NO LONGER IN FORCE MESSAGES: These are issued to notify you when warnings and alerts are no longer in force. No further flooding is currently expected for your area. Flood waters may still be around but you can start the clean up process. 24 hours a day.

References

* * * *{{Cite web , url=http://www.floodlinescotland.org.uk/knowyourcodes/index.html , title=SEPA Floodline Service | Floodline quick dial codes , access-date=2013-05-21 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130807044615/http://floodlinescotland.org.uk/knowyourcodes/index.html , archive-date=2013-08-07 , url-status=dead Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Emergency communication Emergency management in the United Kingdom Emergency population warning systems