How to flood-proof your home: from water-thirsty plants to deflated footballs

After summer’s heatwaves, prepare for winter of storms and heavy rain, with millions of UK homes at risk of flooding The accelerating climate crisis and this year’s record-breaking El Niño mean that, although the summer’s heatwaves are still fresh in the memory, households in the UK are already being told to prepare for a potentially destructive winter of storms and heavy rain – leaving millions of homes at risk of flooding.

Government action is needed to improve flood defences and build reliance on a national and regional level.

But with the UK’s flood season just weeks away, the Guardian spoke to experts to find out what action communities and individuals can take to make their neighbourhoods and homes more resilient, from self-closing airbricks to deflated children’s footballs.

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