UK Flood Alerts: Why Your Move and Storage Plan Need a Weather-Check

What the current flood-alerts reveal about risk for your move or storage

As of the beginning of November 2025, the UK government's Flood line service has recorded 1 flooding warning (flooding expected) and 19 flooding alerts (flooding possible) in England. Check for Flooding +1 For London in particular, the flood-risk is marked as "very low" over the next 5 days – two things to consider: it is a "very low" risk and there is still an amber basic flood alert in place. Check for Flooding

However, what this means for someone moving home, storing furniture, or considering storage on a short-term basis while waiting for their keys: is that your logistics plan is feeling additional uncertainty than it may normally do. You may have to factor rainfall, blocked access routes, drainage system strain, or public transport issues into your logistics plan which may result in you needing to place your goods into storage for an extended period or in a more complex storage arrangement. So, when you then see things like "cheap storage London" or "self storage east London", now is a time to go beyond thinking solely about cost and consider the question: what if the weather works against me?

Three weak links in storage and moving when weather works against you

#1 - Delays in transport and packing

Moving day involves a lot of hand-off of items: they leave your home, they are transported, they arrive in the moving storage unit (or at the new place), and they are either stored there or unpacked. With fog and flood alerts, there is the potential for vans to be delayed, or roads to be inaccessible. Sometimes access ramps at refurbishment sites are blocked, or detours are enforced. The time items are in transit or some level of limbo increases and the risk increases.

#2 - Environment of the storage facility and access

If you are going to use the cheapest unit in London or an older loft / garage alternative, you may be ok accepting units, particularly if they are on the ground floor or in the basement, which can be a little riskier for water-ingress if heavy rain occurs. Just because the environmental assessment rates the unit as a "very low flood risk" doesn't mean there is no risk, just that it is reduced. When seeing your items again - perhaps sooner than expected because you were delayed from moving - you need to know how to access items. You don't want to be in an access situation where the facility your items are stored is inaccessible because someone has locked it up or local climate has caused some weather disruption to access the location.

#3 - Chaotic retrieval or extended storage

What if your move is delayed due to flooding or a storm has triggered a refurbishment delay? Suddenly your goods have entered storage longer than anticipated. You may require access to some of this property at short notice. If you have an inflexible contract, or the storage facility is not open. Or you do not have a contract with a retrieval-on-demand model, you could be stuck in positional or forced to pay a retrieval fee charge to obtain your goods. In a worst-case scenario situation, your belongings can be more difficult to retrieve because of troublesome local weather or logistics disruption.

How a professional door-to-door move & storage service makes a difference

This is especially the case for London movers, with smaller homes, frequent moves, and the likelihood of storage being part of the move, choosing a provider like

I Like To Move It Move It Storage offers some built-in advantages:

• Door-to-door collection: The item is packed, sealed, and picked up from your home. This shortens the time spent in-limbo between pick-up and storage so there would be less exposure to the weather or delays in transit.
• Secure storage unit in a London-aware facility: The storage unit will be located in a facility chosen for accessibility, drainage, retrieval flexibility, and monitoring. You are not just picking the cheapest storage unit, you are selecting a facility customized for the logistics and risk environment of London.
• Easy to Retrieve and Extend: If your move is pushed out you would need to extend your storage easily and retrieval of your items with as little complication as possible. Our service gives you that option and does not lock you into straight jacket terms.  
• Retrieval planning integrated: Because we work with movers in London - when we plan your storage, we build the retrieval sequence into it. So you are covered if that any items need to come back sooner than you expect.  
• Focus on value - not just space: Yes you will access cheap storage London, but you shall do with full understanding of what you get and what you leave open. Plus, the storage calculator we have helps you define size and duration with pre-thought.

Your checklist: storage, retrieval and contingency for London moves

• Use the storage calculator to estimate what you will require but be sure to add on at least an extra month if you are putting things into storage for an overly weather-sensitive time.
• While looking into storage London cheap deals, be sure to ask about: fire/flood/water-ingress history, elevated unit placement, hours of retrieval, and condition-checks at intake.
• Select a storage facility you can easily access from London and ensure you know if your belongings are in a east London self storage or similarly easy to get to. This will matter if the environment becomes disruptive.
• Label and take pictures of the items you drop off. Ensure the storage provider also conducts condition-checks and at least provides you with an inventory list at the time of collection..
• Confirm retrieval rights and retrieval timing because if items are needed sooner than expected due to delaying your move or not having a new home, you should not be prohibited retrieval or forced to pay more than expected.
• Consider what would happen if retrieval acess routes are flooded or if transport is disconnected or prevented due to track losses, do you have a backup retrieval plan? Is your provider aware of the logistics involved.
• Keep important and/or high-value items separate or closer to retrieval because storing everything on the lowest unit shelf or buried in the attic will prevent you from getting those items out quickly if needed.

Final Thoughts

Don’t let changing weather and the evolving flood risk profile in London derail your storage or relocation plan. Talk to I Like To Move It Move It Storage today for your obligation-free home-collection quote and make sure your storage, moving, and retrieval plan is safe, adaptable and weather-competent. Use our Storage Calculator to get started now.