Storms Babet and Ciarán prompt over 750 flood warnings

The Environment Agency issued over 750 flood warnings, including 5 severe flood warnings, during storms Babet and Ciarán, according to its national assessment of flood and coastal erosion risk in England¹. The storms formed part of a winter, from April 2023 to March 2024, in which there were 13 named storms, compared with one in 2022 to 2023 and seven in 2021 to 2022¹. The agency says its flood defences operated well during the winter storms and protected around 250,000 properties, while around 5,000 properties were flooded¹.

Storm Babet produced the busiest day ever recorded by the agency's Flood Warning System, with more than 5,500 new users registering for warnings and almost 400,000 messages sent in a single day¹. Storm Henk later brought several of the country's biggest river systems, the Trent, Thames, Severn and Avon, to record levels or close to record levels as they drained large volumes of rain from their catchments¹.

The assessment also sets out the wider picture of flood risk in England. It states that around 6.3 million properties, homes and businesses, are in areas at risk of flooding from rivers, the sea or surface water, and that this could rise to around 8 million by mid-century with climate change¹. Around 2.4 million properties are in areas at risk from rivers and the sea, and 367,900 are in areas at high risk from those sources, an 88% increase on the previous assessment¹. Of the properties at high risk, 163,300 are likely to flood to depths of 30cm or higher, and 87,500 to depths of 60cm or higher¹.

The agency says the detailed local mapping behind the new assessment is being made available through GOV.UK digital services from early 2025, with new data on the check your long term flood risk service and on data.gov.uk in early 2025, and an update to the flood map for planning service in spring 2025¹. It states that NaFRA was not developed or tested for insurance underwriting or setting insurance premiums¹.

Why it matters for households

The warnings figures show how many households were drawn into the warning system during a single storm season. The agency reports that more than 5,500 new users registered for warnings on the busiest day alone¹. Households in England can check their risk through the agency's published mapping, which is being updated from early 2025¹. The assessment notes that around a third of all roads, 38%, are in areas at risk from one or more sources of flooding, rising to 46% by mid-century under climate projections, and that 34% of water pumping stations and treatment plants are in areas at risk¹. It also reports that flooding can have long-lasting mental health consequences, including depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder¹. The agency states that even if net zero is reached, more intense rainfall can be expected more frequently, and sea level will continue to rise well into the next century¹.

What happens next

The agency says it is committed to a rolling programme of data improvements and is developing a new flood and coastal investment programme using the new assessment data, to prioritise the places and projects where current and future risk is greatest¹. It states that from early 2025 detailed local mapping will be available through GOV.UK digital services, that new data will be published on the check your long term flood risk service and data.gov.uk in early 2025, and that the flood map for planning service will be updated in spring 2025¹. Updated shoreline management plans were published in January 2024¹.

Households can read about flood alerts, flood warnings and severe flood warnings, how to sign up for free flood warnings, and the checklist when a flood warning is issued. The site's flooding hub and storms and snow hub cover preparation more broadly, with pages on coastal flooding, tidal surges and erosion, flood doors and flood windows, what to do during a flood at home and home insurance in a flood risk area and Flood Re.