Exploring Flood Risk Zones: A Comprehensive Guide

In the past few years, sudden floods and the drastic rise in sea levels have become a factor of concern. We might blame it on the pollution we have caused or the lack of plants, but nothing will help, at the end of the day floods are one of the most fatal calamities. To protect ourselves against this, one needs to understand the vitality and basics of flood risk assessment, check flood risk zones, and how to mitigate them.

This blog aims to provide you with knowledge on all aspects of flood risk assessment and ways to mitigate them. Also, we will introduce you to Urban Water, a leading flood risk management company that helps you prevent any damage in case of floods.

Why is it important to understand flood risk assessment?

Understanding flood risk assessment is important for a few key reasons:

• Floods Happen Often: Floods are pretty common natural disasters, and they can be really destructive. This means they can harm nature and people.

• Climate Change and Cities Growing: The risk of floods in cities near the coast is getting worse because of climate change and more people are moving to these areas. This is a big concern.

• Preventing and Managing Floods: To stop floods from being a big problem, we need to understand them better. This way, we can figure out which places are most at risk and what to do about it.

• Avoiding Damage and Problems: By studying flood risks, we can also figure out how much money and other issues floods might cause. This helps us plan and build cities in a way that keeps people and property safe.

In short, understanding flood risk assessment helps us use science to prepare for and prevent floods, making our cities safer and more resilient.

Flood risk zones in England

The Environment Agency in England uses three major flood risk zones to show how likely an area is to flood.

• Flood Risk Zone 1: Low Chance

This is where flooding is unlikely, with less than a 0.1% chance of river or sea flooding each year.

• Flood Zone 2: Medium Chance

Here, there’s a medium chance of flooding, with a 0.1 to 1% of river flooding, or a 0. 5% chance of sea flooding each year.

• Flood Zone 3: High Chance

Flood zone 3 is divided into two parts: 3a and 3b.

• Zone 3a has a higher risk, with a 1% or greater chance of river flooding, or a 0.5% or greater chance of sea flooding each year.
• Zone 3b, also called the functional floodplain, is where land can store or let water flow during floods. It has a 3.3% or greater annual probability of flooding.

Methods to Check Flood Risk

In order to stay prepared for a calamity it is important to know whether your property is guarded against the flood or not. Here are a few methods to check flood risks.

Short-Term Method to Check Flood Risk

• Weather Forecast: 

The news section includes the weather forecasts for the upcoming week. When there’s a prediction of heavy rain, it’s a sign that flooding could happen soon and you should be prepared.

• Government’s flood risk alerts website for short-term flood risk prediction:

UK government has launched its website that allows you to navigate areas that are on flood risk alert in the UK. you can either check it on www.gov.uk/check-flooding or you can get information by giving a call on 0345 988 1188.

Long-Term Methods to Check Flood Risk

Here are methods to check long-term flood risk:

• Flood Maps: 

Study flood maps provided by local authorities or online resources for England. These maps show which areas have a history of flooding and are more likely to flood in the future. They help you understand the long-term risks in your area.

• Climate Change Trends: 

Pay attention to climate change trends and studies. Climate change can cause more intense and frequent floods. They indicate when and possibly how much the sea level can rise and how much chance there is for flood to affect the area you stay in.

• Flood risk assessment reports by Urban Water

Does your area have proper flood defences, like levees or flood walls or is it prone to flooding? Well, Urban Water provides you with complete flood risk assessment reports that comply with all flood risk legislation and are approved by the environment agency and local planning authorities. This report helps understand the risks of flooding and the preventive measures that can be taken to protect from any future damage to life and property. Click here to get your flood risk assessment report.

• Long-term flood risk alerts on the government website:

To check for long-term flood risks in the UK, you can get the entire information at www.gov.uk/check-long-term-flood-risk or call 0345 988 1188. Visit the website and tap start now enter the required information and you will get all the deets about flood risks in and around your area.

How to use Flood Risk Maps?

• Reading flood risk maps:

There are flood risk maps for the UK that use colour to mark areas that are in danger of experiencing a flood to areas that are safe. The government of England provides a flood risk map service online that you can use to assess the risks. Here is how to check flood risk areas on the map:

• Go to the flood-map-for-planning.service.gov.uk/
• Now tap on start now
• It asks you about your location, you can provide this information by entering one of these three: postcode or place, national grid reference (NGR), or easting and northing coordinates.
• Now you need to check flood risk map. The map will show your area marked in different colours. The areas that are uncoloured are safe, while those areas that are marked light blue fall in Zone 2, and areas marked in dark blue or red fall in Zone 3.

• Using Urban Water’s flood risk map service:

Reading a flood risk map is a bit tricky and you need expert assistance in this. Finding your area on the map or knowing exactly what the colours indicate can be cumbersome. Hence, we have an easy method for you! You can get a detailed yet simplified version of flood risk maps on Urban Water.

You can even get expert assistance in flood risk assessment from them.

Mitigating Flood Risk

Mitigating flood risk is like putting on armour to protect against a storm. Here are ways to do it:

• Flood risk assessment for your property:

Wondering how to check flood-risk areas? Get help from the experts. They study the area and figure out how likely it is to flood. Knowing this helps you prepare better.

• Improved drainage designs:

Think of it like making sure water can easily flow away when it rains a lot. Clearing blocked drains and improving drainage systems is like giving the rain a clear path to follow, preventing floods.

• Zero carbon design and nature-based solutions:

Buildings that are constructed using natural materials and zero carbons tend to absorb extra water and lessen the risk of flooding. This is owing to the fact that these materials are porous and buoyant as well.

• Hydraulic river modelling:

Hydraulic River Modeling is a computer program for predicting river and other water bodies’ behaviour during floods. Engineers input data about the river, like its shape, the land around it, and how much water is flowing through it. The program then simulates different scenarios, like heavy rain or snow melting, to see how the river would react. By doing this, it helps experts figure out where floods might happen, how severe they could be, and what areas need extra protection. It helps communities plan and build defences against floods.

Urban Water: a company for flood risk assessment and mitigation solutions

Urban Water is a trusted company in England for flood risk assessment and mitigation solutions. Mitigating flood risk is like fortifying against a storm. Our experts assess flood risks, improve drainage systems, install nature-based solutions, employ hydraulic river modelling, and provide designs with zero carbon, to build resilient buildings that stand upright even during calamities.