This metadata record is for Approval for Access product AfA256.

Flood Risk Areas identify locations where there is believed to be significant flood risk. The EU Floods Directive refers to Flood Risk Areas as 'Areas of Potentially Significant Flood Risk' (APSFR).

Flood Risk Areas have been defined by the Environment Agency (main rivers and the sea) and Lead Local Flood Authorities (surface water). Other sources of flooding are not covered. This dataset includes Flood Risk Areas defined for both Cycle 1 (December 2011) and Cycle 2 (December 2018).

The criteria used to determine significance are explained in supporting guidance document supplied with this data.

Flood Risk Areas determine where Flood Hazard and Risk Maps and Flood Risk Management Plans must subsequently be produced to meet obligations under the EU Floods Directive.

INFORMATION WARNING

Flood Risk Areas are designed to meet the needs of the European Floods Directive. They are designed for broad planning purposes only and are not appropriate for any other type of flood mapping. Other flood mapping is available which is more appropriate to showing localised flood risk. Attribution statement: © Environment Agency copyright and/or database right 2019. All rights reserved.

PLEASE NOTE: This record has been retired. It has been superseded by: https://environment.data.gov.uk/dataset/f81508d3-cf5a-44ed-ae7e-452be665af84 This dataset is a product of a national assessment of flood risk for England produced using local expertise. It is produced using the Risk of Flooding from Rivers and Sea data which shows the chance of flooding from rivers and/or the sea, based on cells of 50m. Each cell is allocated one of four flood risk categories, taking into account flood defences and their condition. This dataset uses OS address data and Royal Mail postcode data to show how many properties are in each of four flood risk categories in each postcode, based simply on the category allocated to the cell that each property is in. NOTE: We have paused quarterly updates of this dataset. Please visit the “Pause to Updates of Flood Risk Maps” announcement on our support pages for further information. We will provide notifications on the Check Your Long-Term Flood Risk website to indicate where we have new flood risk information. Attribution statement: © Environment Agency Copyright and/or Database Rights 2023. All rights reserved. Some features of this map are based on digital spatial data from the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, © NERC (CEH). © Crown Copyright and Database Rights 2023 OS AC0000807064. This product is produced in part from PAF® and Multiple Residence Data, the copyright in which is owned by Royal Mail Group Limited and/or Royal Mail Group plc. All rights reserved. Licence number AC0000807064.

This dataset is a product of a national assessment of flood risk for England produced using local expertise.

This dataset is produced using the Risk of Flooding from Rivers and Sea data which shows the chance of flooding from rivers and/or the sea, based on cells of 50m. Each cell is allocated one of four flood risk categories, taking into account flood defences and their condition.

This dataset uses OS data to assign one of four flood risk categories to each property, based simply on the category allocated to the cell that the property is in. Individual addresses are not provided, but OS referencing is included to enable the data to be linked to address databases.

NOTE: We have paused quarterly updates of this dataset. Please visit the “Pause to Updates of Flood Risk Maps” announcement on our support pages for further information. We will provide notifications on the Check Your Long-Term Flood Risk website to indicate where we have new flood risk information. Attribution statement: © Environment Agency Copyright and/or Database Rights 2023. All rights reserved.

Some of the data in the database has been produced using data licensed from the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, © NERC.

© Crown Copyright and Database Rights 2023 OS AC0000807064.

Risk of Flooding from Rivers and the Sea (RoFRS) shows the chance of flooding from rivers and the sea taking into account the presence and condition of flood defences. It is our main way of communicating flood risk from rivers and sea to the public through our ‘Check Your Long Term Flood Risk’ service on gov.uk. Climate change scenarios have been produced for this dataset to indicate the predicted impacts of climate change on future risk.

While flood defences reduce the level of risk they do not completely remove it. For example, water can flow over the top of the defence, or they can fail in extreme weather conditions or if they are in poor condition. As a result, the RoFRS maps may show that there is risk to areas behind some flood defences.

RoFRS is a probabilistic product, meaning that it shows the overall risk, rather than the risk associated with a specific event or scenario. In externally published versions of this dataset, risk is displayed as one of four likelihood bandings:

High - greater than or equal to 3.3% chance in any given year (1 in 30) 
Medium - less than 3.3% (1 in 30) but greater than or equal to 1% (1 in 100) chance in any given year 
Low - less than 1% (1 in 100) but greater than or equal to 0.1% (1 in 1,000) chance in any given year 
Very Low - less than 0.1% chance in any given year (1 in 1,000) 

Our climate change allowances include anticipated changes to:

- Peak river flow 
- Sea level rise 
- Offshore wind speed and extreme wave height 

The climate change allowances are based on the latest UK Climate Projections (UKCP18) from the Met Office, using the Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 8.5.

Our Flood risk assessment: climate change allowances include several different allowances reflecting the range of possible future climates. They also provide allowances for different periods of time, acknowledging that some users will want to look further into the future than others. The periods of time vary for each source of risk because equivalent datasets for each source are not always available.

Check Your Long-Term Flood Risk is aimed at supporting individuals, communities and organisations making short- and medium-term decisions to manage future flood risk. We have therefore chosen:

- the ‘Central’ allowance for the 2050s epoch (2040-2069) for risk of flooding from rivers 
- the ‘Higher Central’ allowance for risk of flooding from the sea, accounting for cumulative sea level rise to 2065 

This data also presents the likelihood of flooding for the following depths:

0.2m 
0.3m 
0.6m 
0.9m 
1.2m 

NB. This is a complex dataset, with preview available only on certain zoom levels. The Web Mapping service has been set to 1:50 000 in the

This dataset is not suitable for identifying whether an individual property will flood. GIS layer showing the flood hazard rating for flooding from surface water that could result from a flood with a 3.3% chance of happening in any given year. The flood hazard rating is defined as a function of simultaneous depth and velocity and grouped into 4 bands. This dataset is one output of our Risk of Flooding from Surface Water (RoFSW) mapping, previously known as the updated Flood Map for Surface Water (uFMfSW). It is one of a group of datasets previously available as the uFMfSW Complex Package. Further information on using these datasets can be found at the Resource Locator link below. Information Warnings: Risk of Flooding from Surface Water is not to be used at property level. If the Content is displayed in map form to others we recommend it should not be used with basemapping more detailed than 1:10,000 as the data is open to misinterpretation if used as a more detailed scale. Because of the way they have been produced and the fact that they are indicative, the maps are not appropriate to act as the sole evidence for any specific planning or regulatory decision or assessment of risk in relation to flooding at any scale without further supporting studies or evidence. Attribution statement: © Environment Agency copyright and/or database right 2015. All rights reserved. Some features of this map are based on digital spatial data from the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, © NERC (CEH). Soils Data © Cranfield University (NSRI) and for the Controller of HMSO 2013.

PLEASE NOTE: This record has been retired. It has been superseded by: https://environment.data.gov.uk/dataset/b5aaa28d-6eb9-460e-8d6f-43caa71fbe0e

This dataset is not suitable for identifying whether an individual property will flood. GIS layer showing the flood hazard rating for flooding from surface water that could result from a flood with a 3.3% chance of happening in any given year. The flood hazard rating is defined as a function of simultaneous depth and velocity and grouped into 4 bands. This dataset is one output of our Risk of Flooding from Surface Water (RoFSW) mapping, previously known as the updated Flood Map for Surface Water (uFMfSW). It is one of a group of datasets previously available as the uFMfSW Complex Package. Further information on using these datasets can be found at the Resource Locator link below. Information Warnings: Risk of Flooding from Surface Water is not to be used at property level. If the Content is displayed in map form to others we recommend it should not be used with basemapping more detailed than 1:10,000 as the data is open to misinterpretation if used as a more detailed scale. Because of the way they have been produced and the fact that they are indicative, the maps are not appropriate to act as the sole evidence for any specific planning or regulatory decision or assessment of risk in relation to flooding at any scale without further supporting studies or evidence.

In 2022, the United Kingdom registered a total of roughly 2.06 million residential dwellings at risk of flooding from rivers or the sea. This figure represented an increase of over 30,000 dwellings at risk of flooding from 2020 levels.

The Flood Map for Planning (Rivers and Sea) includes several layers of information. This dataset covers Flood Zone 3. It is our best estimate of the areas of land at risk of flooding, when the presence of flood defences are ignored and covers land with a 1 in 100 (1%) or greater chance of flooding each year from Rivers; or with a 1 in 200 (0.5%) or greater chance of flooding each year from the Sea.This dataset is designed to support flood risk assessments in line with Planning Practice Guidance; and raise awareness of the likelihood of flooding to encourage people living and working in areas prone to flooding to find out more and take appropriate action.The information provided is largely based on modelled data and is therefore indicative rather than specific.Locations may also be at risk from other sources of flooding, such as high groundwater levels, overland run off from heavy rain, or failure of infrastructure such as sewers and storm drains.The information indicates the flood risk to areas of land and is not sufficiently detailed to show whether an individual property is at risk of flooding, therefore properties may not always face the same chance of flooding as the areas that surround them. This is because we do not hold details about properties and their floor levels.Information on flood depth, speed or volume of flow is not included.NOTE: We have paused quarterly updates of this dataset. Please visit the “Pause to Updates of Flood Risk Maps” announcement on our support pages for further information. We will provide notifications on the Flood Map for Planning website to indicate where we have new flood risk information. Other data related to the Flood Map for Planning will continue to be updated, including data relating to flood history, flood defences, and water storage areas.

This dataset is now retired and replaced with the following: Reservoir Flood Extents - Fluvial Contribution (National) https://environment.data.gov.uk/dataset/db114020-465a-412b-b289-be393d995a75 Reservoir Flood Extents - Wet Day (National) https://environment.data.gov.uk/dataset/d81646cf-37e5-4e71-bbcf-b7d5b9ca3a1c Reservoir Flood Extents - Dry Day (National) https://environment.data.gov.uk/dataset/c66ee97f-49d2-454e-9a19-d48a47bd22ad This is the simplified version of the outline Reservoir Flood Map Outline (Extent) as shown on the gov.uk Flood Risk website. This is one of 3 available "Risk of Flooding from Reservoirs" Web Mapping Services; Maximum Flood Depth, Maximum Flood Extent, Maximum Flood Speed. Simplified in this context refers to the fact that unlike the detailed product, individual reservoir flood map extents are not shown separately, and one merged outline shows the maximum flood extent for all reservoir flooding scenarios together. This is a data layer showing a combined reservoir flood map for 2,092 Large Raised Reservoirs. The data shows the maximum extent of flood should reservoirs be breached, and although the location of each reservoir can be inferred they are not explicitly shown on the maps. The Reservoir Flood Map Maximum Flood Outline (Extent) in its simplified form is referred to externally as Risk of Flooding from Reservoirs – Maximum Flood Extent. The Reservoir Flood Map Outline (Extent) shows the largest area that might be flooded if a reservoir were to fail and release the water it holds. Since this is a prediction of a credible worst case scenario, it’s unlikely that any actual flood would be this large. These data are intended for emergency planning only and are not reliable for large scale flood risk assessments. Please note that only flood maps for large reservoirs are displayed. Flood maps are not displayed for smaller reservoirs or for reservoirs commissioned after reservoir mapping began in spring 2009. Information Warning: The Maximum extent category is available under the standard OGL terms when supplied as a WMS. This excludes the underlying data. Attribution statement: © Environment Agency copyright and/or database right 2019. All rights reserved.

This database, and the accompanying website called ‘SurgeWatch’ (http://surgewatch.stg.rlp.io), provides a systematic UK-wide record of high sea level and coastal flood events over the last 100 years (1915-2014). Derived using records from the National Tide Gauge Network, a dataset of exceedence probabilities from the Environment Agency and meteorological fields from the 20th Century Reanalysis, the database captures information of 96 storm events that generated the highest sea levels around the UK since 1915. For each event, the database contains information about: (1) the storm that generated that event; (2) the sea levels recorded around the UK during the event; and (3) the occurrence and severity of coastal flooding as consequence of the event. The data are presented to be easily assessable and understandable to a wide range of interested parties. The database contains 100 files; four CSV files and 96 PDF files. Two CSV files contain the meteorological and sea level data for each of the 96 events. A third file contains the list of the top 20 largest skew surges at each of the 40 study tide gauge site. In the file containing the sea level and skew surge data, the tide gauge sites are numbered 1 to 40. A fourth accompanying CSV file lists, for reference, the site name and location (longitude and latitude). A description of the parameters in each of the four CSV files is given in the table below. There are also 96 separate PDF files containing the event commentaries. For each event these contain a concise narrative of the meteorological and sea level conditions experienced during the event, and a succinct description of the evidence available in support of coastal flooding, with a brief account of the recorded consequences to people and property. In addition, these contain graphical representation of the storm track and mean sea level pressure and wind fields at the time of maximum high water, the return period and skew surge magnitudes at sites around the UK, and a table of the date and time, offset return period, water level, predicted tide and skew surge for each site where the 1 in 5 year threshold was reached or exceeded for each event. A detailed description of how the database was created is given in Haigh et al. (2015). Coastal flooding caused by extreme sea levels can be devastating, with long-lasting and diverse consequences. The UK has a long history of severe coastal flooding. The recent 2013-14 winter in particular, produced a sequence of some of the worst coastal flooding the UK has experienced in the last 100 years. At present 2.5 million properties and £150 billion of assets are potentially exposed to coastal flooding. Yet despite these concerns, there is no formal, national framework in the UK to record flood severity and consequences and thus benefit an understanding of coastal flooding mechanisms and consequences. Without a systematic record of flood events, assessment of coastal flooding around the UK coast is limited. The database was created at the School of Ocean and Earth Science, National Oceanography Centre, University of Southampton with help from the Faculty of Engineering and the Environment, University of Southampton, the National Oceanography Centre and the British Oceanographic Data Centre. Collation of the database and the development of the website was funded through a Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) impact acceleration grant. The database contributes to the objectives of UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) consortium project FLOOD Memory (EP/K013513/1).

PLEASE NOTE: this dataset has been retired. It has been superseded by data for Flood Risk Areas: https://environment.data.gov.uk/dataset/f3d63ec5-a21a-49fb-803a-0fa0fb7238b6

Shapefile for Indicative Flood Risk Areas generated using the Environment Agency's Communities at Risk Approach. This information is provided by the Environment Agency for use by LLFAs in their review during 2017 of Preliminary Flood Risk Assessments and Flood Risk Areas under the Flood Risk Areas. it must be used in conjunction with data for Indicative Flood Risk Areas generated by the Environment Agency using the cluster method as well.

The Indicative Flood Risk Areas are primarily based on an aggregated 1km square grid Updated Flood Map for Surface Water (1 in 100 and 1000 annual probability rainfall), informally referred to as the “blue square map”.

This dataset is a component of Indicative Flood Risk Areas (shapefiles)

A bundle download of all Indicative Flood Risk Areas spatial datasets is also available from this record. Please see individual records for full details and metadata on each product. Attribution statement: © Environment Agency copyright and/or database right 2016. All rights reserved.

This dataset is not suitable for identifying whether an individual property will flood. This bundle includes the Basic subset of layers from our Risk of Flooding from Surface Water (RoFSW) mapping, previously known as the updated Flood Map for Surface Water (uFMfSW). It is a group of datasets previously available as the uFMfSW Complex Package. The Basic subset includes the following layers: Risk of Flooding from Surface Water Extent: 0.1 percent annual chance Risk of Flooding from Surface Water Extent: 1 percent annual chance Risk of Flooding from Surface Water Extent: 3.3 percent annual chance Risk of Flooding from Surface Water Input Model DetailsRisk of Flooding from Surface Water Suitability

InformationWarnings: Risk of Flooding from Surface Water is not to be used at property level. If the Content is displayed in map form to others we recommend it should not be used with basemapping more detailed than 1:10,000 as the data is open to misinterpretation if used as a more detailed scale. Because of the way they have been produced and the fact that they are indicative, the maps are not appropriate to act as the sole evidence for any specific planning or regulatory decision or assessment of risk in relation to flooding at any scale without further supporting studies or evidence. Some features of this information are based on digital spatial data licensed from the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology © NERC (CEH). Defra, Met Office and DARD Rivers Agency © Crown copyright. © Cranfield University. © James Hutton Institute. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2015. Land & Property Services © Crown copyright and database right.This partner version can be downloaded from environment.data.gov.uk.

The Quantifying Flood Risk of Extreme Events using Density Forecasts Based on a New Digital Archive and Weather Ensemble Predictions Project is a Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Flood Risk for Extreme Events (FREE) Research Programme project (Round 1 - NE/E002013/1 - Duration January 2007 - December 2008) led by Dr Patrick McSharry, University of Oxford. The dataset contains a collection of rainfall depth maxima data, dating back to 1860, plus associated description documents and rainfall maps of extreme events across the UK, have been used. All of these products have been digitised from the paper version of the British Rainfall publication, and are now archived at the BADC to enable easy access for future use and the wider community.

The surface water flood maps give an indication of the broad areas likely to be at risk of surface water flooding. This includes flooding that takes place from the surface runoff generated by rainwater (including snow and other precipitation) that: (a) is on the surface of the ground (whether or not it is moving), and (b) has not yet entered a watercourse, drainage system or public sewer. The Flood Map for Surface Water pick out natural drainage channels, rivers, low areas in floodplains, and flow paths between buildings. But it does not indicate flooding caused by local rainfall. It does not show flooding that occurs from overflowing watercourses, drainage systems or public sewers caused by catchment-wide rainfall events or river flow. A national model has been run for 1 in 30, 1 in 100 and 1 in 1000 year rainfall events. It has been modelled on a 2 metre square grid. Lead Local Flood Authorities were consulted and where available locally held model outputs have been incorporated into the maps. This dataset has been superseded by the new National Flood Hazard Maps 2019 - NRW_DS124790

This dataset has been produced as part of the Mapping Potential for Working with Natural Processes research project (SC150005). The project created a toolbox of mapped data and methods which enable operational staff in England to identify potential locations for Working with Natural Processes (WWNP).

Data has been produced for each intervention covered by the project. The final outputs include the following datasets: • Floodplain Woodland Planting Potential • Riparian Woodland Planting Potential • Wider Catchment Woodland • Floodplain Reconnection Potential • Runoff Attenuation Features 3.3% AEP • Runoff Attenuation Features 1% AEP • Woodland Constraints

WWNP Floodplain Reconnection Potential is our best estimate of locations where it may be possible to establish reconnection between a watercourse and its natural floodplain, especially during high flows. The dataset is designed to support signposting of areas where there is currently poor connectivity such that flood waters are constrained to the channel and flood waves may therefore propagate downstream rapidly. The dataset is based upon the Risk of Flooding from Rivers and Sea probability maps, and identifies areas of low and very low probability that are close to a watercourse, but which do not contain residential property or key services.

The areas may contain non-residential property so it is important to consider this and recent buildings or defences when considering floodplain reconnection. Locations identified may have more recent building or land use than available data indicates. It is important to note that land ownership and change to flood risk have not been considered, and it may be necessary to model the impacts of significant reconnection.

Further information on the Working with Natural Processes project, including a mapping user guide, can be found in the reports published here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-with-natural-processes-to-reduce-flood-risk Attribution statement: © Environment Agency copyright and/or database right 2015. All rights reserved.

Number of properties in a floodplain and those with a significant risk of flooding.

NAFRA - National Flood Risk Assessment.

There are 3 risk categories:

(i) low - 0.5% (1 in 200) chance of flooding each year or less.

(ii) moderate - 1.3% (1 in 75) chance or less but greater than 0.5% (1 in 200) chance in any year.

(iii) significant - greater than 1.3% (1 in 75) chance in any year.

This dataset was updated in 2008. The GLA are yet to receive the raw data. Please follow the links to the Environment Agency website to read the headline findings. Current data from the Envrionment Agency relating to Risk of Flooding from Rivers and Sea (previously known as NAFRA) can be found on their Geostore site

This record is for Approval for Access product AfA379. Previously known as NaFRA Spatial Flood Likelihood Category Grid. This is a national assessment of flood risk for England produced using local expertise.

The dataset shows the chance of flooding from rivers and/or the sea, based on cells of 50m. Each cell is allocated one of four flood risk categories, taking into account flood defences and their condition. No more detailed resolution is provided. Attribution statement: © Environment Agency copyright and/or database right 2018. All rights reserved. Some features of this map are based on digital spatial data from the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, © NERC (CEH) © Crown copyright and database rights 2018 Ordnance Survey 100024198

This layer of the map based index (GeoIndex) shows where river floodplains and coastal plains in Britain are located and therefore the main areas at greatest risk of flooding. The map shows areas vulnerable to two main types of flooding: inland (river floodplains) and coastal/estuarine and is therefore a key tool in identifying those areas most vulnerable from future flooding. The map is based on observation of the types of geological deposit present and does not take into account any man-made influences such as house building or flood protection schemes. It also does not take into account low-lying areas where flooding could occur but where there are no materials indicating flooding in the geological past. The BGS Geological Indicators of Flooding data should therefore be regarded as complementary to, but not a replacement for, existing Environment Agency flood risk maps. The BGS Geological Indicators of Flooding (GIF) dataset is a digital map based on the BGS Digital Geological Map of Great Britain at the 1:50,000 scale.

This dataset is a register of structures and features that are considered to have a significant effect on flooding in Leicester.