Recorded Flood Outlines

Recorded Flood Outlines is a GIS layer which shows all our records of historic flooding from rivers, the sea, groundwater and surface water. Each individual Recorded Flood Outline contains a consistent list of information about the recorded flood.

Records began in 1946 when predecessor bodies to the Environment Agency started collecting detailed information about flooding incidents, although we may hold limited details about flooding incidents prior to this date.

The absence of coverage by Recorded Flood Outlines for an area does not mean that the area has never flooded, only that we do not currently have records of flooding in this area.

It is also possible that the pattern of flooding in this area has changed and that this area would now flood or not flood under different circumstances.

The Recorded Flood Outlines take into account the presence of defences, structures, and other infrastructure where they existed at the time of flooding. It includes flood extents that may have been affected by overtopping, breaches or blockages.

Any flood extents shown do not necessarily indicate that properties were flooded internally.

A companion dataset Historic Flood Map contains a subset of these Recorded Flood Outlines which satisfy a certain criteria.