What to do if there is flooding or heavy rain

Official updatesLU-Alert · RTL, 100.7 · 112

Do this now

Go upstairs with your phone, medicines and documents. Never go into the cellar or garage: the door can jam and the water may be live.
Cut the electricity to the rooms that may flood, and turn off the heating and the gas or oil supply if you can reach them safely.
Move the car out of the flood zone only if there is still time and the roads are dry. Never drive through floodwater: Status: Verified of moving water can carry a car away.
Stay out of the water on foot too. Status: Verified of moving water can knock you over, and you cannot see what lies under the surface. Keep away from river banks.
Call Status: Verified if someone is in danger. If you are trapped, go to the highest floor and make yourself visible at a window.
Switch on a battery or car radio and tune to Status: Verified. Keep the phone charged for LU-Alert messages, and follow diversions and evacuation orders at once.
Have a torch and drinking water ready. Floods can cut off power and water supplies.

Check whether your home, cellar or garage lies in a flood zone on the official flood maps (inondations.lu and the water maps on the geoportail). Flash floods after heavy rain can also hit streets far from any river.
Watch the rain warnings on Alerts and sirens: orange means prepare the house now, red means stay at home.
Learn where to cut the electricity, gas, oil and water for the whole house, and write it in your household plan.

Keep valuables, documents and pollutants such as paint, oil and chemicals above the ground floor, or ready to carry up.
Clear the drains and gutters, check the non-return valve on the sewer connection, and secure the oil tank.
Have sandbags or flood boards ready. A sandbag wall holds only if it is Status: Verified.
Put copies of your documents in a waterproof pouch, keep a photo inventory of the home, and check whether your insurance covers flood damage.

Water, food, torch, radio, power bank, cash and medicines: see the emergency kit checklist. Water: Status: Verified per person per day, for Status: Verified.
Charge the phone and the power bank as soon as a rain warning comes in.
Agree where to meet and who collects the children if roads and bridges close.

Go back only when the authorities say it is safe. Water can rise again, and a soaked building can be unstable.
Do not switch the power back on in a room that was under water. Have the fuse box, sockets and appliances checked by an electrician first, and do not enter a flooded cellar until the power is off.
Treat tap water as unsafe until the supplier says otherwise: boil it or use bottled water. See No water, or water unsafe.
Photograph the damage before you clear up. The insurer will ask for it.
Start drying and cleaning within Status: Verified to limit mould. Wear gloves and boots: floodwater carries sewage.
Talk to someone you trust about what happened. Ask for help if you still feel shaken.

Keep them away from the water, even a flooded street or a puddle over a drain. It is dirty and the current is stronger than it looks.
Say what is happening in plain words, and what you are doing about it.

Agree now with a neighbour or the commune who helps you upstairs or out of the house. Ask for that help early, before the water arrives.
Keep medicines, glasses and aids in one bag that goes with you. If you depend on powered equipment, read Power is out.

Take them upstairs with you, or with you in a carrier if you leave, with their food and water. Never leave an animal tied up outside.

Even if your flat stays dry, flooding below can cut off power, water and lift access. Get your things out of the cellar early, fill containers, and check on the neighbours on the ground floor.