How to check your home's flood risk in the UK

By the Drystead team

Checked 23 Oct 2026

Flood plan and protection planner

Worked example

For a house with an upstairs in England, 2 external doors, 1 patio or french doors, 4 air bricks low on the outside walls, where the official checker says medium risk:

  • Things to consider: sign up for free flood warnings; think about a property flood resilience survey; flood barriers or flood doors for external doors (2); barriers for patio or french doors (1); air brick covers or self-closing air bricks (4); non-return valves on drains and waste pipes; seal gaps in walls and around frames; raise sockets and wiring at your next refurb.
  • A printable flood plan with the numbers to call, where to turn off the gas, electricity and water, and what to move upstairs.
  • No prices: measure your doors and air bricks first, then get quotes.

Source: Environment Agency, checked 23 Oct 2026; GOV.UK, checked 23 Oct 2026; CIRIA, checked 23 Oct 2026

The official flood maps are free and take a couple of minutes. Here's how to use the right one for where you live, and how to read what it tells you.

Step one: open the map for your nation

Step two: look at every source of flooding

Don't stop at the first result. The England checker gives separate results for rivers and the sea, surface water, reservoirs, and groundwater where data is available. A home can be low risk from rivers and still be at risk from surface water after heavy rain.

Step three: note the highest risk

Write down the highest risk shown for your address, and which source it came from. That's the answer our planner asks for.

What the map can't tell you

The England service tells you the risk for an area, not for your particular building. It can't see how high your doorstep is, whether you have low air bricks, or how your walls are built. If the map shows a real risk, a property flood resilience survey is the next step before buying protection.

FAQs

Does a low result mean my home won't flood?

No. Low risk means flooding is less likely, not impossible. Signing up for free warnings and keeping a flood plan is worthwhile wherever you live.

Can Drystead check my postcode for me?

No, and we don't try. The official maps are kept up to date by the bodies that run them, so we link to them rather than copying their data.

Sources