Flood Risk Tools • How-To Guide

Sign Up for Free Flood Warnings

If your property or site is at risk of flooding from a river or the sea, the Environment Agency's free warning service alerts you by phone, text or email. Here's how to register and why it matters.

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Official EA / industry tool
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Step-by-step guide
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What the result means
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Free advice if you need it

Why register for flood warnings

Flood warnings buy time. For a home, business or construction site in a flood-risk area, an early warning is the difference between moving people, vehicles and valuables to safety and being caught out. The Environment Agency's service is free and covers flooding from main rivers and the sea.

For development, a registered warning system is also often a planning requirement — it's the backbone of the flood warning and evacuation plans that highly vulnerable sites need to satisfy the EA.

Sign up for flood warnings →

How to use it — step by step

Four quick steps to get what you need from the tool.

1. Check you're in a warning area

The service covers flooding from main rivers and the sea. Enter your postcode to see whether warnings are available for your location.

2. Provide your contact details

Register the address and a day-or-night contact number (and email). You choose how you're warned — phone, text or email.

3. Choose your warnings

You can receive Flood Alerts, Flood Warnings and Severe Flood Warnings for your area.

4. Build it into your flood plan

For an at-risk site, record the registration in your flood warning and evacuation plan so everyone knows how the warning is received and who acts on it.

Surface water isn't covered

The free service covers main rivers and the sea, not surface water or ordinary watercourses — which is exactly where a lot of flooding actually happens. If your site's risk is surface water or groundwater, an FRA and a site-specific plan matter even more. We can advise on the right approach.

Related: Check for Flooding (live)  •  Flood Emergency & Evacuation Plan  •  Home Flood Risk Assessment

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Environment Agency flood warning service free?
Yes. Registration and the warnings themselves — by phone call, text or email — are free of charge.
What if my address isn't covered by a warning area?
The service only covers flooding from main rivers and the sea, so properties at risk from surface water, groundwater or smaller watercourses may fall outside it. In that case a site-specific FRA and flood plan become more important, and you can still use the live Check for Flooding service.
Can I register more than one address?
Yes — you can add multiple locations to one account, which is useful for landlords, site managers, or businesses with several premises at risk.

Not sure what your result means?

Send us your postcode and we'll tell you, free, whether your site needs a Flood Risk Assessment.

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Or contact us directly: 07826 705389  •