Posted on 5th Oct 2009 @ 4:19 PM

Over 200,000 houses in the North West are at risk from flooding, and people in the region stand to lose around £28,000 if their homes are flooded.

The Environment Agency’s North West branch admits that it’s impossible to completely eradicate the risk of floods. But with the average cost of repairs to a flood-damaged home estimated at £28,000 they are warning that we all need to be well prepared.

The residents of the Lancashire village of Earby are no strangers to flooding.

Barbara Males’ house was damaged by floods in 2000, 2001 and 2004.

But signing up to an Environment Agency early warning scheme meant she avoided a similar fate in 2007.

"We were in bed and got a call from the Environment Agency, we looked out of the window and the water was more or less at the top of the bridge."

"We managed to sandbag the kerb which averted the last flood getting into the house."

The village is one of those using an early warning system which monitors the level of the local river and automatically alerts residents if the water is getting dangerously high.

Read the full story and watch the video at BBC.co.uk