The Environment Agency is releasing new national data on flood and coastal erosion risks, including projections that account for climate change. This phased rollout provides updated, more detailed information to help individuals, businesses, and planners make informed decisions.
What’s Been Published
- 28 January 2025: New National Flood Risk Assessment (NaFRA) data, covering risks from rivers, the sea, and surface water.
- 28 January 2025: New National Coastal Erosion Risk Map (NCERM) data.
- 17 December 2024: The National Assessment of Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk in England 2024 – a report summarizing the latest flood and erosion risk data.
What’s Coming Next
- 25 March 2025: Updated Flood Zone Data (NaFRA2) on the Flood Map for Planning and available on data.gov.uk. This will support developers and planners in assessing flood risks.
Improvements in Flood Risk Mapping
The new NaFRA provides a clearer and more comprehensive picture of current and future flood risks, including:
✔️ Higher-resolution maps for better visibility of risk areas
✔️ Flood depth projections
✔️ Data on climate change impacts using UK Climate Projections (UKCP18)
You can access this updated flood risk data via:
- Check your long-term flood risk
- data.gov.uk
Coastal Erosion Risk Updates
The updated National Coastal Erosion Risk Map (NCERM) offers the most accurate national assessment of coastal erosion in England. Key improvements include:
✔️ New data from the National Network of Regional Coastal Monitoring Programmes
✔️ More accurate projections based on the latest shoreline management plans (SMPs)
✔️ Future scenarios factoring in climate change effects, including rising sea levels
NCERM data is available through:
- Check coastal erosion risk for an area in England
- Shoreline Management Plan Explorer
- data.gov.uk
For Professional Users
The latest flood and coastal erosion risk data is available on the Defra Data Services Platform (DSP). Professionals using this data should review the updated formats and processing requirements on the Defra DSP Support pages.
Ongoing Updates
Regular updates will resume in summer 2025, incorporating new local flood models and third-party data. We will notify users about these updates via:
- Check your long-term flood risk website
- Flood Map for Planning portal
These improvements will help ensure that flood and coastal risk information remains accurate, accessible, and up to date.
For more details, visit data.gov.uk.
