Flood Risk Mapping and Data

We supply UK flood information in many formats for customers with assets at risk of damage from flood intrusion.

Talk to us about Flood Risk

An estimated five million households (1 in 5) are at risk to flooding in the UK, with annual damages estimated between £500 million and £1 billion each year.  Data from UK Climate Projections (UKCP) indicates that UK is likely to receive more bouts of heavy rain, more frequently, as a result of climate change. The number of flood events is likely to increase, and along with it, the potential for loss and damage.  Comprehensive flood data is key to managing the risk both now and in the future.   

We’re one of the top suppliers of flood mapping and intelligence, helping businesses who need to predict and manage the risk from seasonal flooding - rivers, coastal, groundwater We supply all the main flood models from leading specialists JBA and Ambiental, to 15 FTSE 100 companies, top insurers and 4,000 other businesses in the UK.

Understanding Flood Risk

From April 2022 it is mandatory for the largest UK-registered companies and financial institutions to to disclose climate related financial information inline with TCFD (Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures) recommendations. 

Data that identifies current and future risk from climate-related factors such as flood is vital to that activity.

Our climate intelligence and web services can drive your automated outputs, feed into consumer-facing reports, and give you the foundations on which to build strong and measurable insights about your climate-related, physical and transitional risk management.

 

Talk to us about a bespoke solution for you.

Image showing where might flood on the landscape

Ambiental UK FloodMap 4™

Ambiental UK FloodMap 4™ Base map used to visualise, assess, and understand potential flood risk for six return periods.

Product Details

An accurate and easy-to-understand property-level, flood risk model which provides a high-resolution, 5-metre flood map consistently across the whole of Great Britain.  Flood maps for Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands (Guernsey, Jersey) are also available and are licensed separately.  UKFloodMap4™ is used to visualise, assess, and understand potential flood risk by insurers, government agencies, property developers, property owners and emergency responders.

UK FloodMap4™ considers multiple flooding sources, each modelled separately to provide flood footprints and flood depths (with flood-depth codes) for six return periods.  The product models 30% more rivers than other products by modelling further up the catchment area.  It uses Environment Agency LiDAR remote sensing data, supplemented by Bluesky’s Digital Terrain Model data.  The LiDAR data covers the majority of the UK’s residential and commercial properties (82% of GB properties and 64% in Northern Ireland).

UK FloodMap4™ makes use of Ordnance Survey VectorMap District building outlines and land cover to model infiltration and drainage rates.  The modelling approach is guided by the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology methodology to simulate complex river (fluvial) flood flows, tidal storm/surge, and intense rainfall-driven (pluvial) urban flood events, taking into account distribution of rainfall intensity over time, land cover types (roughness), and varying drainage and infiltration characteristics.

Please note: The sample to the right is not for commercial use.

Technical Details

Supplier
Ambiental
Update Cycle
Annually (in April)
Coverage
GB, separate datasets are available for NI and Channel Islands
Formats Available
TIF
Licence Options
Minimum 12 month licence with discounts applied to 3-year contract terms
Delivery Timescale
Next day

Related Products

Groundsure Flood Insight, OS VectorMap Local Raster

Download Samples

Illustration of houses showing flood risk score

Ambiental FloodScore™

Provides a Risk Rating and an Annual Damage Ratio (ADR) for each property address

Product Details

Ambiental UK FloodScore™ is based on Ambiental UK FloodMap4 and provides property-level flood risk information for Great Britain, Northern Ireland, and the Channel Islands.  The product estimates the current view of the likelihood and severity of a flood hazard affecting each individual property and is intended for use by the insurance sector.

Each property address is considered as a buffered point (Lat/Long) depending on property type. The maximum flood depth within the buffered area is considered for each flood source and each return period and the likelihood of flooding is expressed as a return period which is a measure of the average recurrence interval of a specific flood event.  The property buffer is used to avoid understating the level of risk where a property may be shown to be flooding within its footprint, but the flood extent does not intersect the property centroid.

UK FloodScore™ estimates a property-level loss in Pounds Sterling (£) for each flood source and return period based on standard industry figures of rebuild/reinstatement costs for a national average residential property. 

Losses for each flood source are annualised and provide an average annual loss (£AAL) for each flood source, and then combined to create a Combined £AAL.  Where potential overlap of fluvial (river) and pluvial (surface water) exists, the higher of these risks is assumed (NB.  Tidal risk is always treated independently).  These values are scaled to the following rating fields:

  • Risk Rating (FloodScore):  £AAL is divided by 10 and capped at 100 (e.g.  A Risk Rating of 17 is derived from an £AAL of £170, where a rating of 100 represents an £AAL of over £1,000).
  • Annual Damage Ratio (ADR):  ADR is calculated by dividing the £AAL by the assumed rebuilt/reinstatement cost and expressed as a percentage.  This can be multiplied by flood-exposed Total Sum Insured to generate a more building-specific £AAL.

Technical Details

Supplier
Ambiental
Update Cycle
Quarterly
Coverage
UK
Formats Available
Supplied as a single CSV file
Licence Options
Minimum 12 months with discounts applied to 3 year contract terms
Delivery Timescale
Next day

Related Products

Download Samples

Samples coming soon.

Coming soon.......

Ambiental FloodScore™ Climate

Adopts UK Climate Projections 2018 (UKCP18) data to model UK future climate

Product Details

Ambiental UK FloodScore™ Climate is UK dataset which provides a view of climate-related, property-level flood risk information for Great Britain, Northern Ireland, and the Channel Islands.  The product provides an estimate of the likelihood and severity of climate-related flood hazards affecting each individual property and is intended for use by mortgage lenders and property owners (e.g.  Housing Associations).  

UK FloodScore™ Climate adopts the UK Climate Projections 2018 (UKCP18) data update to model UK future climate.  This is modelled in three epochs for four future CO2/Greenhouse Gas emissions scenarios (known as Representative Concentration Pathways – RCP) and six return periods.  The product provides estimates for flood depths for each property address in defended and undefended situations along with undefended risk ratings (i.e.  FloodScore), an average annual loss (AAL) and an annual damage ratio (ADR) for each flood source.  The product includes UK FloodScore™ (the current view of flood risk).

Why is the product important?
The product enables customers to estimate the long view of flood risk as it applies to their asset portfolio and satisfy disclosure requirements of various Environment & Social Governance (ESG) reporting frameworks.  

Technical Details

Supplier
Ambiental
Update Cycle
Twice per year
Coverage
UK
Formats Available
CSV
Delivery Timescale
Next day

Related Products

Download Samples

Ambiental Groundwater Flood Risk

A 5m resolution, property-level flood risk model covering England, Wales and Scotland. The product considers all aquifer types and permeable superficial deposits driven by overflowing rivers and high tides to identify areas within a property that may be at risk.

Product Details

Ambiental Groundwater Flood Risk is a companion dataset to UK FloodMap4™ and provides an even more comprehensive view of flood risk for insurers, utility companies, construction companies, property developers, owners, and asset managers.

Ambiental Groundwater Flood Risk combines comprehensive data on geology, permeability, and historic groundwater levels to provide insight into the actual risk of groundwater flooding for a 1 in 100-year return period.  Flooding risk is expressed using a 5-point scoring system from negligible (0) to high (4).  The basement impact model also indicates where groundwater levels may rise above two metres below ground, where Low and Moderate risk ratings indicate basement impact is possible at the 1-in-1,000-year and 1-in-100-year return periods respectively.

Why is the product important?
Ambiental Groundwater Flood Risk provides an alternative view of a flood hazard which is often overlooked.  Groundwater flooding is a significant threat to construction projects, utility infrastructure and the value of properties generally.


Please note: The Sample to the right is not for commercial use.

Technical Details

Supplier
Ambiental
Update Cycle
Annually
Coverage
GB
Formats Available
BW TIF, SHP

Related Products

Groundsure Flood Insight, OS VectorMap Local Raster

Download Samples

FloodFutures®

FloodFutures® is a predictive flood model that considers nine possible climate change scenarios between 2020 and 2080.

Product Details

Ambiental FloodFutures® is a national 5-metre grid dataset designed to help property developers, infrastructure managers, environmental and engineering consultants plan for future flood risk.

Product Details

FloodFutures® a high-resolution climate change flood model for Great Britain covering all major flood perils, river, surface water and tidal for nine possible climate change scenarios between 2020 and 2080.

The impact of global warming and rising sea levels is intensifying, and every one of us will need to adapt and plan in the face of uncertainty. The UK is witnessing higher temperatures and changing rainfall patterns resulting in more intense storms, flash flooding and droughts. The frequency of such extreme weather events and the probability of them coinciding is increasing, resulting in an intensification of the severe consequences.

If you are working on a project or your organisations needs a long term view of flood risk to protect assets, property and infrastructure, then FloodFutures can help identify and mitigate these risks.

Data Specification

Modelled:

1 in 100 year return period’, Undefended

Epochs:

2020’s, 2050’s and 2080’s’

Layers:

  • Fluvial flooding
  • Pluvial flooding
  • Tidal flooding (encompassing sea-level change)
  • Sea-level rise (shows low and high tide lines)
  • Sea-level rise inundation areas – zones that are subject to inundation due to sea-level rise rather than as a result of a specific flood event
  • River-bank and bed erosion potential for each 100-metre river segment’
  • Impact on road and rail transport infrastructure as two layers with flood depths and erosion potential rating for each 100-metre road/railway segment’


Please note: The Sample to the right is not for commercial use.

Technical Details

Supplier
Ambiental
Formats Available
BW TIF, SHP

Related Products

Groundsure Flood Insight, OS VectorMap Local Raster

Download Samples

These sample are not for commercial use.

BW TIF

SHP

To use the SHP sample you will need the the following:

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JBA Comprehensive Flood Model map

JBA Comprehensive Flood Model

JBA Consulting's Flood Risk Model data including Surface Water Flood Map, the Reservoir Failure Flood Map and the Undefended River Flood Map.

Product Details

JBA Consulting's Flood Risk Model data covers England, Wales and urban areas of Scotland. Included in the product are the Surface Water Flood Map, the Reservoir Failure Flood Map and the Undefended River Flood Map. It has been developed in conjunction with Infoterra and parts have been licensed by the Environment Agency for emergency planning purposes.

The Surface Water Flood Map identifies areas likely to flood following extreme rainfall events - land naturally vulnerable to surface water or pluvial flooding. The model provides the maximum depth of flooding in each 5m cell of the digital terrain model, which is processed into depth bands to identify varying levels of risk.

JBA's Reservoir Failure Flood Map identifies areas in England that are most likely to suffer damage to property following sudden catastrophic failure of a reservoir. 1700 reservoirs are included in the model, which uses JBA's 2D hydraulic modelling techniques and a digital terrain model to create the maps - 1-2m resolution Lidar data in large urban areas and 5m resolution data elsewhere.

The Undefended River Flood Map (image shown on the right) provides the highest resolution flood mapping for urban areas, and is based on detailed hydrological analysis of river systems, followed by advanced 2D hydraulic modelling of water flow onto river floodplain areas. The output from the modelling includes flood outlines and flood depth grids for the following four return periods: 1 in 75 year; 1 in 100 year; 1 in 200 year, and; 1 in 1000 years.


Please note: The Sample to the right is not for commercial use. JBA accept no liability.

Technical Details

Supplier
JBA
Update Cycle
Annual
Coverage
UK
Scale
Large urban areas 1-2m resolution Lidar; 5m resolution data elsewhere
Formats Available
CSV and SHP
Licence Options
Annual
Delivery Timescale
On request

Related Products

Groundsure Flood Insight, OS VectorMap Local Raster

Download Samples

BGS Groundwater Flooding map

BGS Groundwater Flooding

Groundwater flood risk types as polygons attributed as either "superficial deposits flooding" or "clearwater flooding", graded from Very Low to Very High.​

Product Details

Groundwater flooding is the emergence of groundwater at the ground surface. It can occur in a variety of geological settings including valleys in areas underlain by Chalk, and in river valleys with thick deposits of alluvium and river gravels. Groundwater flooding happens in response to a combination of already high groundwater levels (usually during mid- or late-winter) and intense or unusually lengthy storm events. Groundwater flooding often lasts much longer than flooding caused by a river over-flowing its banks. It may last many months and can cause significant social and economic disruption to the affected areas.


Data is available in Shapefile or Tab file format. Groundwater flood risk types are shown as polygons and attributed as either "superficial deposits flooding" or "clearwater flooding", and are graded into 5 categories from Very Low to Very High.

 

Technical Details

Supplier
British Geological Survey
Update Cycle
Annual
Coverage
GB
Formats Available
SHP and webservice
Licence Options
Annual
Delivery Timescale
Up to 4 working hours

Related Products

Groundsure Flood InsightOS 1:50 000 Raster

Download Samples

BGS SuDS data map

BGS SuDS

Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems - mapping environmentally beneficial drainage.

Product Details

This dataset is suitable for those involved in the planning and design of sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) and for those who approve SuDS planning applications within local authorities.

The dataset gives a preliminary indication of the suitability of the ground for infiltration SuDS. These are drainage systems that allow surface water to infiltrate to the ground, such as soakaways, infiltration basins, infiltration trenches and permeable pavements. The selection and design of an appropriate system depends on the properties of the ground and in particular the following four factors:

  1. the presence of severe constraints that must be considered prior to planning infiltration
  2. the drainage potential of the ground
  3. the potential for ground instability when water is infiltrated
  4. the protection of groundwater quality

The BGS Infiltration SuDS map is based on 15 nationally derived subsurface property datasets, some of which are a result of direct observations, whilst others rely on modelled data.

The dataset is structured using the above four factors, and allows consideration of the subsurface permeability, the depth to groundwater, the presence of geological floodplain deposits, the presence of artificial ground, ground stability (soluble rocks, collapsible ground, compressible ground, running sand, shallow mining, landslide and shrink–swell clays), potential for pollutant attenuation and the Environment Agency's source protection zones.

Technical Details

Supplier
British Geological Survey
Coverage
GB
Scale
1:50,000
Formats Available
SHP, TAB
Licence Options
Annual
Delivery Timescale
within 4 working hours

Related Products

JBA Comprehensive Flood Model, Groundsure Flood Insight

Download Samples

SuDS (Summary) sample: TAB, SHP

SuDS (Detailed) sample: TAB, SHP

 

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Phone & Email

Address

Building A2 (Office 1052) Cody Technology Park Old Ively Road
Farnborough
GU14 0LX
United Kingdom