What to do if…
you notice soil washing away near a foundation or retaining wall and it seems to be accelerating

What to do now

1. Make a no-go zone now. Keep everyone away from the affected ground, the top and bottom of any retaining wall, and any path or driveway edge that may be unsupported. Use chairs, bins, tape, or another visible barrier if you can do this without going near the edge.

2. Check for immediate danger from a safe distance. If there is active collapse, a wall that may fall, a rapidly widening hole, someone trapped, or danger to passers-by, call 999 and keep clear.

3. Stop water making it worse, but only from a safe place.

   • If a stop tap or isolation valve is easy to reach and you suspect a plumbing leak, turn off the relevant water supply.
   • If a downpipe or overflow is discharging into the washout, divert it away using a temporary extension only if you can do this without standing near the unstable ground.
   • If rain is entering the damaged area, a weighted sheet or tarp may help shed water away, but do not step onto soft, cracked, or unsupported ground to place it.
   • Do not divert water onto a neighbour’s property, a public footpath, or a road.

4. Look for urgent warning signs without probing the ground. From a safe distance, check whether the wall is leaning, bulging, cracking, losing soil from behind it, or weeping water. Check whether paving, steps, drains, gullies, or a driveway edge are dropping or separating.

5. Record what is happening before it changes. Take photos or video from safe positions, include something for scale if you can, and write down when you first noticed it, recent rain or leaks, and whether the gap or crack is getting larger.

6. Arrange an urgent professional assessment. Contact a structural engineer, ideally a Chartered Structural Engineer, and say: “There is accelerating soil washout near a foundation or retaining wall, and I need urgent advice on safety and temporary measures.” If a retaining wall is involved, ask them to consider drainage, loss of backfill, surcharge loads, and whether the area should stay closed off.

7. Check utilities if the washout is near pipes, cables, meters, or service covers.

   • If you smell gas, suspect carbon monoxide, or think a gas pipe may have been struck, move people away. In England, Wales and Scotland call 0800 111 999. In Northern Ireland call 0800 002 001 for a natural gas emergency.
   • If there are exposed cables, damaged electrical equipment, a damaged pole, or a power supply problem, keep well clear. In England, Wales and Scotland call 105. In Northern Ireland call 03457 643643.

8. Tell the organisations that may need to act.

   • Contact your home insurer and describe it as urgent ground washout, possible structural movement, retaining wall instability, or possible escape of water. Ask what evidence they want before anyone carries out temporary or permanent works.
   • If the issue could affect a public path, road, shared boundary, adjoining property, or passers-by, report it to the relevant local council as a potentially dangerous building or structure. In England and Wales, GOV.UK provides a dangerous building reporting route. In Scotland, dangerous building reports are handled through local authorities. In Northern Ireland, nidirect says the local council is the first point of contact.