Check Flood Risk by Postcode in England
Find out if a property in England is at risk of flooding from rivers and the sea. Free Environment Agency data.
Enter a postcode in England to check its flood risk rating from Environment Agency data. The tool shows whether a property is at very low, low, medium or high risk from rivers and the sea, and links to the government's own flood risk report for that postcode. Useful if you are buying or renting a property, or weighing up insurance costs. The colour-coded map shows risk levels for surrounding postcodes, so you can see the wider area's flood exposure at a glance.
This tool covers England only, and only flooding from rivers and the sea. For surface water, reservoirs and groundwater as well, use GOV.UK's own long-term flood risk checker (also England only): gov.uk/check-long-term-flood-risk. In Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, use Natural Resources Wales, SEPA flood maps or Flood Maps NI.
Check Flood Risk by Postcode
Wondering if your home or a property you're considering is at risk of flooding? Our free flood risk checker uses Environment Agency data to show you the long-term flood risk for any postcode in England. Just enter a postcode and get an instant assessment.
The data covers flood risk from rivers and the sea, helping you understand whether an area is in a flood zone and what level of risk applies. It covers England only: Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own flood maps, from Natural Resources Wales, SEPA and the Department for Infrastructure, and a postcode there shows as not covered.
Understanding Flood Risk Levels
High Risk
Properties in high-risk areas have a 1 in 30 or greater chance of flooding in any given year. That's 3.3% a year or more, which adds up to about a 29% chance or more of flooding at least once in 10 years (1 minus (29/30) to the power of 10 is about 0.29). In the UK you do not buy flood insurance separately: flood is one of the risks a standard home insurance policy covers, as the Association of British Insurers explains. In a high-risk area that cover can cost much more, and for many homes built before 2009 the insurer can pass the flood part of the policy to Flood Re to keep the price down. These areas may also face restrictions on new development.
Medium Risk
Medium-risk areas have between a 1 in 30 and 1 in 100 annual chance of flooding (1-3.3%). Standard home insurance usually covers these areas, though premiums may be higher.
Low Risk
Low-risk areas have between a 1 in 100 and 1 in 1000 annual chance of flooding (0.1-1%). While flooding is unlikely in any given year, it can still occur during extreme weather events.
Very Low Risk
Areas with less than a 1 in 1000 annual chance of flooding. Flooding is rare but not impossible.
Not on the At-Risk List (England)
If a postcode in England isn't on our list, none of its homes is in an area the Environment Agency puts in any of the four bands for rivers and the sea, in our copy of the data. This doesn't guarantee the area will never flood: surface water flooding and drainage problems can still happen.
Not Covered (Outside England)
A postcode in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands shows as not covered. That means we have no data for it, not that it has no risk. Check the flood map for that country instead.
Why Check Flood Risk?
Check flood risk before making an offer. It affects insurance costs and property value.
Know your flood risk before applying for home insurance to understand likely premiums.
Flood risk affects planning permission. Check before submitting an application.
Analyse flood risk patterns for business planning, investment, or academic research.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this cover Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland?
No. The Environment Agency's data covers England only. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland each have their own flood maps: Natural Resources Wales, SEPA and the Department for Infrastructure's Flood Maps NI. If you enter a postcode there, the tool says it is not covered and links to the right one. The Isle of Man and the Channel Islands are not covered either.
Is this the official flood risk data?
It is a postcode summary of Environment Agency data: the EA's Risk of Flooding from Rivers and Sea postcode data, from its June 2026 release. We show one band per postcode, the highest band any home in that postcode is in. GOV.UK's own service shows the risk for the area around a single address and also covers surface water, so check it before relying on our result. We link to it for each postcode.
Does this include surface water flooding?
No. This dataset covers flooding from rivers and the sea only. Surface water (drainage) flooding is a separate risk that depends on local drainage. For that, and for reservoirs and groundwater, use GOV.UK's long-term flood risk service, which covers England only.
My postcode is not on the at-risk list. Am I safe?
In England, it means the postcode is not in the Environment Agency's list of postcodes at risk from rivers or the sea, in our copy of that data. Flooding can still happen from surface water, groundwater or overwhelmed drains, so it is not a guarantee. Outside England we have no data at all: a postcode in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland shows as not covered, which says nothing about its risk.
How up to date is the data?
Our copy is the Environment Agency's release of 18 June 2026, which we downloaded on 8 October 2026. The EA says it plans to update this data about every three months; we refresh our copy by hand when it does, so GOV.UK may sometimes be newer. For current flood warnings, check GOV.UK's flood warning service.
Can I use this data for insurance purposes?
This data can help you understand your general flood risk level before getting insurance quotes. However, insurers use their own detailed risk models which may differ. Always get a proper quote from insurers for accurate premium information.
Related Guides & Tools
More tools for researching properties and locations:
- How Flood Risk Affects Home Insurance - Flood Re, insurer assessments, and what to do in a flood zone
- UK Elevation Guide - How height above sea level relates to flood risk, and a vertical tour of UK terrain
- Crime Checker - Check crime rates for any UK postcode
- School Finder - Find schools near any location with Ofsted ratings
- Radius Map - Draw circles on a map to visualise areas
- What to Check Before Buying a House - Free data-driven checklist for UK house buyers