The Flood Map for Planning Service includes several layers of information. This includes the Flood Zones data which shows the extent of land at present day risk of flooding from rivers and the sea, ignoring the benefits of defences, for the following scenarios: • Flood Zone 1 – Land having a less than 0.1% (1 in 1000) annual probability of flooding. • Flood Zone 2 – Land having between 0.1% - 1% (1 in 100 to 1 in 1000) annual probability of flooding from rivers or between 0.1% - 0.5% (1 in 200 to 1 in 1000) annual probability of flooding from the sea, and accepted recorded flood outlines . • Flood Zone 3 – Areas shown to be at a 1% (1 in 100) or greater annual probability of flooding from rivers or 0.5% (1 in 200) or greater annual probability of flooding from the sea. Flood Zone 1 is not shown in this dataset, but covers all areas not contained within Flood Zones 2 and 3. Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) use the Flood Zones to determine if they must consult the Environment Agency on planning applications. They are also used to determine if development is incompatible and whether development is subject to the exception test. The Flood Zones are one of several flood risk datasets used to determine the need for planning applications to be supported by a Flood Risk Assessment (FRA) and subject to the sequential test. The Flood Zones are a composite dataset including national and local modelled data, and information from past floods. The Flood Zones are designed to only give an indication of flood risk to an area of land and are not suitable for showing whether an individual property is at risk of flooding. This is because we cannot know all the details about each property. Users of these datasets should always check they are suitable for the intended use Attribution statement: © Environment Agency copyright and/or database right 2025. All rights reserved.

UK Postcode-level Flood Risk Data (Rivers and Sea)

Identifying Risk Areas for Flood Protection and Planning

By IBM Watson AI XPRIZE - Environment [source]

About this dataset

Welcome to the UK Postcode-level Flood Risk Dataset. This open source dataset contains detailed information on flood risk levels by postcode in the UK, allowing you to map out potential problems and plan accordingly. With this dataset, you can assess each postcode's growing risk of floods due to human land use change and climate change-related weather patterns, as well as historical occurrences specific to each area.

We pull data from organizations including Risk of Flooding from Rivers & Sea, Open Postcode Geo, Royal Mail copyright & database right (2017), National Statistics data Crown copyright & database right (2017), and Environment Agency data licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. The associated columns in this dataset are detailed below:

• Postcode - unique identifier for the postal code district where flood risk area is located
• FID - Unique ID for each location point
• PROB 4BAND - Flood risk level for a given postcode determined according to a four tier grade system (High, Medium, Low or Very Low)
• SUITABILITY - Suitability of location based on environment factors assessed according to OFRA criteria
• PUB_DATE - Date when data was published or last updated
• RISK FOR INSURANCE SOP - Standard Operating Procedure assigned according the Probability 4 band Risk rating
• Easting/Northing/Latitude/Longitude – Coordinates associated with a given postcode location

This data can be used by local authorities and agencies conducting flood mapping projects; insurers assessing assets at specified locations using an agreed set of methodology; advisors assessing locations for development purposes; forecasters aiding contingency planning; homeowners/commercial businesses seeking insurance cover for claims arising from flooding events etc. Ultimately we hope citizens around the world use this dataset as an important tool to predict areas exposedto potential flooding risks so that preventive measures may be taken beforehand!

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How to use the dataset

This Kaggle dataset provides postcode-level flood risk data for the UK, including the flood risk level, coordinates, and other related information. This dataset is derived from Risk of Flooding from Rivers and Sea (provided by the British government) and Open Postcode Geo. It is licensed under the OGL 3.0 open government license.

In this data set you will find columns for each postcode as well as unique identifiers for a particular region (FID), an overall four band flood risk level (PROB_4BAND), whether a specific location or building is suitable or not (SUITABILITY), when it was published so you can be sure you are getting reliable up to date information (PUB_DATE), Easting/Northing which roughly measure distance eastwards/northwards of locations in meters(EASTING / NORTHING), LATITUDE & LONGITUDE that point to a precise location on google map & finally RISK_FOR_INSURANCE SOP which clearly distinguishes between sites which should generate warnings with regard to various kinds of insurance policies. This allows companies applying digital transformation solutions like hazard mapping solutions to show what risks certain locations present in relation to possible flood damage using digital technologies such as GIS systems or location intelligence tools etc., allowing organizations apply data science models or techniques like predictive analytics that may be used in decision making processes such as those taken by municipalities when signing off disaster management plans etc..

You can use this dataset for research purposes, share your findings on websites through charts & graphs to develop an educational understanding about possible hazards associated with areas that people inhabit around UK particularly at times when storm systems are localized heavily over specific regions making it most likely due causing major catastrophic event across British Isles . People living there can always access their respective postcodes very easily via our Flood Map by Postcode page here Flood Map.

When writing reports acknowledging source material properly , kindly take into account our acknowledgements including; Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2017, Contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and Database right 2017 , Contains National Statistics ...

PLEASE NOTE: This dataset has been retired. It has been superseded by https://environment.data.gov.uk/dataset/04532375-a198-476e-985e-0579a0a11b47. Links to this data will be removed after April 2025. We encourage users to download this Flood Zones dataset if you would like to retain a comparison ability beyond this date.

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. Attribution statement: © Environment Agency copyright and/or database right 2023. All rights reserved.

Some features of this map are based on digital spatial data from the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, © NERC (CEH)

The Flood Map for Planning Service includes several layers of information. This includes the Flood Zones plus climate change data which shows how the combined extent of Flood Zones 2 and 3 could increase with climate change over the next century, ignoring the benefits of any existing flood defences. We have assumed no changes to flood defences or land-use that could occur in future. The effects of climate change on flood risk we may see in the future could be different to those currently considered. Flood Zones plus climate change should be used to help planners and developers identify the need for: • a site-specific flood risk assessment • the sequential test. The dataset can also help to inform the preparation of strategic flood risk assessments. The Flood Zones plus climate change are a composite dataset including national and local modelled data, and information from past floods. The Flood Zones plus climate change are designed to only give an indication of flood risk to an area of land and are not suitable for showing whether an individual property is at risk of flooding. This is because we cannot know all the details about each property. Flood Zones plus climate change uses the following climate change allowances: • ‘Central’ allowance for the 2080s epoch (2070-2125) for risk of flooding from rivers • ‘Upper End’ allowance for risk of flooding from the sea, accounting for cumulative sea level rise to 2125. Users of these datasets should always check they are suitable for the intended use. Attribution statement: © Environment Agency copyright and/or database right 2025. All rights reserved.

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.Aggregated 1km square grid Updated Flood Map for Surface WaterClick Here to go straight to the DSP Metadata Page for this Dataset.

These 3 layers show the extent of flooding from surface water that could result from a flood with a 3.3% (1 in 30), 1% (1 in 100), and 0.1% (1 in 1000) chance of happening in any given year.Surface water flooding happens when rainwater does not drain away through the normal drainage systems or soak into the ground, but lies on or flows over the ground instead. Managing the risk of flooding from surface water is the responsibility of lead local flood authorities (LLFA). The LLFA is the unitary authority or if there is no unitary authority, the county council for the area.The Environment Agency (EA) is responsible for publishing surface water flood risk maps however mapping of surface water flood risk areas is responsibility of LLFAs. We, the EA, produced the Risk of Flooding from Surface Water (RoFSW) map on behalf of LLFAs, using their input and information. It assesses flooding scenarios as a result of rainfall with a 3.3% (1 in 30), 1% (1 in 100), or 0.1% (1 in 1000) chance of occurring each year. Although surface water flood risk information is not suitable for identifying whether an individual property will flood it does gives an indication of the broad areas likely to be affected.More information - What is the Risk of Flooding from Surface map

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

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”.

• Cluster Maps – are aggregations of 3km by 3km squares that each contain at least 4 (in Wales) or 5 (in England) touching "blue squares" (i.e. 1km grid squares where one of the thresholds above is exceeded)

This dataset forms part 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.

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 Set of shapefiles defining Indicative Flood Risk Areas for local risk. Indicative Flood Risk Areas are provided by the Environment Agency for use by Lead Local Flood Authorities in England in their review during 2017 of Preliminary Flood Risk Assessments and Flood Risk Areas under the Flood Risk Regulations. 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”. These are 1km grids across England and consist of the following data layers: • Surface Water Flood Risk Exposure Grid – 1km square grid that shows places above the flood risk threshold defined, using the 1 in 100 and 1000 annual probability (deep) Flood Map for Surface Water. • Flood risk thresholds used to generate the “blue Squares”: - Number of people > 200 - Number of critical services, including electricity and water > 1 - Number of non-residential properties > 20 • Cluster Maps – are aggregations of 3km by 3km squares that each contain at least 5 touching "blue squares" (i.e. 1km grid squares where one of the thresholds above is exceeded) • Communities at Risk by Lead Local Flooding Authority • People Sensitivity Map by Lead Local Flood Authority. Attribution statement: © Environment Agency copyright and/or database right 2016. All rights reserved. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence

Open Flood Risk by Postcode

English postcodes and the Environment Agency's risk level for the area that postcode falls within.

Fields

• postcode
• FID
• PROB_4BAND
• SUITABILITY
• PUB_DATE
• RISK_FOR_INSURANCE_SOP
• easting
• northing
• latitude
• longitude

Risk levels

Possible values for PROB_4BAND

• High
• Medium
• Low
• Very Low
• None

Methodology

The position of the postcode is determined using a point location from Open Postcode Geo. This point location places the postcode in the corresponding area within Risk of Flooding from Rivers and Sea and the risk level (PROB_4BAND) is linked to the postcode. This allows flood risk level to be looked up by postcode.

Note that properties within the postcode may have a slightly different point location and thus be located in a different area with a different risk level. Generally speaking the point location of the postcode is determined by the point location of the centremost property in that postcode.

Documentation

Full documentation can be found on the Open Flood Risk by Postcode homepage.

• Example application: Flood Maps by Postcode
• Example postcode: SW18 4BX Flood Map

Acknowledgements

Derived from the Environment Agency's Risk of Flooding from Rivers and Sea open dataset.

Postcode data: Open Postcode Geo

Licensed under the OGL (attribution required).

Attribution statements

• Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right (2017)
• Contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and Database right (2017)
• Contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right (2017)
• Contains Environment Agency data licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0

The Flood Map for Planning (Rivers and Sea) includes several layers of information. This layer and documentation covers Flood Zone 2. It is the Environment Agency's best estimate of the areas of land at risk of flooding, when he presence of flood defences are ignored and covers land between Zone 3 and the extent of the flooding from rivers or the sea with a 1 in 1000 (0.1%) chance of flooding each year. This dataset also includes those areas defined in Flood Zone 3.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. This dataset is republished by the West of England Combined Authority for supplementing information within our Local Nature Recovery Strategy. If you are using it for statutory purposes, you should refer to the Environment Agency's canonical version, linked in the Attributions field below as this is likely to be more current.

Environment Agency Flood Map for Planning provides flood zone classifications and flood risk data for every location in England.

The Flood Map for Planning Service includes several layers of information. This includes the Flood Zones plus climate change data which shows how the combined extent of Flood Zones 2 and 3 could increase with climate change over the next century, ignoring the benefits of any existing flood defences. We have assumed no changes to flood defences or land-use that could occur in future. The effects of climate change on flood risk we may see in the future could be different to those currently considered.Flood Zones plus climate change should be used to help planners and developers identify the need for:• a site-specific flood risk assessment• the sequential test.The dataset can also help to inform the preparation of strategic flood risk assessments.The Flood Zones plus climate change are a composite dataset including national and local modelled data, and information from past floods.The Flood Zones plus climate change are designed to only give an indication of flood risk to an area of land and are not suitable for showing whether an individual property is at risk of flooding. This is because we cannot know all the details about each property.Flood Zones plus climate change uses the following climate change allowances:• ‘Central’ allowance for the 2080s epoch (2070-2125) for risk of flooding from rivers• ‘Upper End’ allowance for risk of flooding from the sea, accounting for cumulative sea level rise to 2125.Users of these datasets should always check they are suitable for the intended use.Further information can be found at: https://environment.data.gov.uk/dataset/59065c43-257e-4867-8798-fd2366156a6b

Open Flood Risk by Postcode is derived from the Environment Agency's Risk of Flooding from Rivers and Sea which allocates a risk level to areas in England, UK. Using postcode data from Open Postcode Geo, each English postcode is placed in its risk area, allowing a flood risk level to be allocated to a postcode.

Fields

• postcode
• FID
• PROB_4BAND
• SUITABILITY
• PUB_DATE
• RISK_FOR_INSURANCE_SOP
• easting
• northing
• latitude
• longitude

PROB_4BAND is the flood risk level, and can be one of the folowing:

• High
• Medium
• Low
• Very Low
• None

Note that where a postcode is outside a flood risk area, some of the column values will be NULL, represented as \N in this file.

Documentation

You can find full documentation on the Open Flood Risk by Postcode homepage.

Acknowlegements

Derived from Risk of Flooding from Rivers and Sea Derived from Open Postcode Geo Licensed under the OGL

Foto von Luke Moss auf Unsplash

PLEASE NOTE: This dataset has been retired. It has been superseded by https://environment.data.gov.uk/dataset/04532375-a198-476e-985e-0579a0a11b47. Links to this data will be removed after April 2025. We encourage users to download this Flood Zones dataset if you would like to retain a comparison ability beyond this date.

The Flood Map for Planning (Rivers and Sea) includes several layers of information. This dataset covers Flood Zone 2 and should not be used without 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 between Zone 3 and the extent of the flooding from rivers or the sea with a 1 in 1000 (0.1%) chance of flooding each year. This dataset also includes those areas defined in Flood Zone 3.

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. Attribution statement: © Environment Agency copyright and/or database right 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.

The Development Advice Map (DAM) shows areas at risk of flooding from rivers and the sea for the purposes of land-use planning. The DAM supports Planning Policy Wales and Technical Advice Note (TAN) 15 to guide new development away from areas at risk of flooding wherever possible. Together, they form a precautionary framework to guide planning decisions. The DAM should be considered as a trigger for identifying which development proposals may need to undertake a more detailed assessment of flooding risks and consequences in line with the policy advice set out in TAN15.

Zone C (the 1000yr extreme flood outline) was last updated in January 2020. No further updates are planned to the DAM and you are advised to contact Natural Resources Wales (NRW) about the availability of more up-to-date information.

Zone B (areas known to have flooded in the past) was originally published in 2004 and revised in 2017. When using the DAM the preview defaults to Zone B only. You will need to use the legend control to switch on the other zones.

NRW has developed a new Flood Map for Planning (FMfP) which was published in September 2021. This indicates undefended flood extents over the next 100yrs taking into account the impacts of climate change. This will replace the DAM in June 2023. Although the Flood Map for Planning is not referred to in current planning policy, it can be considered as the most up to date information on flooding risks.

Due to technical Issues the Web Services and Map Browser for the Development Advice Map are currently not available. If you wish to browse the data see the NRW Flood Risk Viewer https://maps.cyfoethnaturiolcymru.gov.uk/Html5Viewer/Index.html?configBase=https://maps.cyfoethnaturiolcymru.gov.uk/Geocortex/Essentials/REST/sites/Flood_Risk/viewers/Flood_Risk/virtualdirectory/Resources/Config/Default&layerTheme=2

This spatial Flood Warning Areas dataset are geographical areas where NRW expect flooding to occur and where NRW provide a Flood Warning Service. Flood Warning Areas generally contain properties that are expected to flood from rivers or the sea. Specifically, Flood Warning Areas define locations within the Flood Warning Service Limit that represent a discrete community at risk of flooding. A discrete community is a recognised and named geographical community, which can be an urban area, a significant suburb of a large city or a village or a hamlet. The purpose of Flood Warnings is to alert people that flooding is expected and they should take action to protect themselves and their property.

An online viewable version of this dataset is available here https://naturalresources.wales/our-evidence-and-reports/maps/flood-risk-map/?lang=en

Public Awareness of Flood Risk: the Role of the Environment Agency Flood Map, 2006-2007 aims to investigate how ‘official’ information translates into public understanding and action, using the example of the Environment Agency's (EA) flood map web site. The study has two different elements; a web survey and flood map experiments.

The web survey was delivered on-line from the EA servers, with a portal on the flood map site. Users of the EA web page were asked to complete the survey which resulted in 1,395 valid responses. Questions were asked about the EA website and in particular the flood map.

The flood map experiments were in-depth interviews with 51 respondents from specially selected case study areas which had different degrees of flood experience. Individuals were asked to work through online flood map material and their responses to specific questions were recorded. The case study areas where: Brockenhurst, Hampshire (9 participants - inland river flooding/moderate risk); Hambeldon, Hampshire (11 participants – recent groundwater flooding/high risk), Carlisle, Cumbria (13 participants – recent inland river flooding/high risk), and a control population of university environmental management students representing highly informed users with low current risk - Portsmouth University (18 participants).

Further information is available from the ESRC award web page.

The following probabilities are available: High – 10 year return period, Medium – 200 year return period, Low – 1000 year return period (river and coastal flooding) or 200 year return period using a 20% uplifts in rainfall intensity for the 2080s based on DEFRA guidance (2006) (surface water flooding), 200 year return period plus climate change (river and coastal flooding)The river climate change scenario has been defined by the United Kingdom Climate Projection 2009 (UKCP09) predictions for 2080s high emissions 67th percentile. For most of Scotland, the coastal climate change scenario used the UK Climate Projections 2009 (UKCP09) high emissions 95th percentile relative sea level rise projections for the year 2080. For the Outer Hebrides, UK Climate Projections 2018 (UKCP18) Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5 (RCP8.5) 95th percentile relative sea level rise projections for the year 2100 were used. Creation Date: 01/01/2014Publication Date: 01/01/2014Revision Date: 08/11/2023A full set of Data Attribution Statement is available on our website:https://www.sepa.org.uk/media/5zidnja5/sepa_flood_maps_data_attribution_statements.pdfAny use of these products must fully acknowledge the sources of the data. ©SEPA 2023; this SEPA product is licensed under the Open Government Licence version 3.0.Copyright and attribution information is available on SEPA's Data Publication webpage.

Flood Map for Planning (Rivers and Sea) includes the following datasets:Flood Zone 3Flood Zone 2Flood Storage AreasThe information on the Flood Map for Planning (Rivers and Sea) is designed to only give an indication of flood risk to an area of land and is not sufficiently detailed to show whether an individual property is at risk of flooding.It doesn't show flooding from other sources, such as groundwater, direct runoff from fields, or overflowing sewers.