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Swords Main Street, 2021Photo: BaronNethercross · CC BY-SA 4.0
A+Hazard risk Grade
Flood & hazards in Swords · EPA, GSI and OPW data

Low radon and steady ground in Swords; flooding isn’t measured here

With an estimated 0% of homes above the radon reference level, among the lower shares, Swords grades A+ for hazard risk. It counts radon and landslide ground only; flooding isn’t measured here, so it isn’t counted either way.

0%of homes over the radon level
In brief

What stands out about Swords’s hazards

From the EPA’s radon map, Geological Survey Ireland’s landslide map, the OPW’s flood relief schemes and our estimate of low-lying homes, below.

Flooding not measuredOnly 6.3% of Swords’s homes have detailed ground heights, too few to measure how many stand low by big water.Low radonAn estimated 0% of homes are above the radon reference level, among the lowest anywhere.Excellent bathing waterPortmarnock, Velvet Strand Beach, 7.8 km away, was rated excellent in 2025.
By hazard

What Swords faces

Each hazard against its own yardstick; meters run from low to high on that yardstick.

Low-lying homes

Not measured
Too few detailed heights · 6.3% of homes
Check the official flood maps

Radon

0%of homes estimated over the reference level
less radon than in 97% of Irish towns
0% of homes in a High Radon Area

Landslides

0%of homes on high or moderately high ground
No home on landslide-prone ground
Rated from the ground and its slope

Bathing water

excellentPortmarnock, Velvet Strand Beach, 7.8 km
11 bathing waters within 15 km
Rated for the 2025 season

Ground heights

6.3%of homes on detailed ground heights
Too few to count flood (80% needed)
Of 12,432 homes counted
Not on this page: the OPW’s official flood maps and past floods (their licence doesn’t allow reuse here: see floodinfo.ie), groundwater and surface-water flooding, coastal erosion and industrial sites.
Hazard risk Grade

Swords grades A+ for hazard risk

Radon, landslide ground and low-lying homes, each against Irish towns, then averaged.

Radon (0%)Better than 96% of Irish towns
Landslide ground (0%)Better than 57% of Irish towns
Low-lying homesNot counted: not measured here

Each figure is placed among Irish towns of 1,000 or more people; the grade averages the three, so a better place on each is a better grade.

Flood isn’t counted for or against Swords: too few of its homes have the detailed ground heights the measure needs, so its grade uses radon and landslide ground only.

Swords isn’t ranked for hazard risk: without a flood figure its grade can’t be set beside towns whose grade counts one.

Less sure: The low-lying figure is our estimate from ground heights and the river map, not an official flood map. It can show a town is low-lying; it can’t show a town is safe. No full LiDAR here (6.3% of homes): the rest of the heights come from a 30 m satellite model, which reads roofs and trees as ground, so this town’s figure isn’t counted.

Low-lying homes

How many of Swords’s homes stand low isn’t measured

Low-lying homes, a TownRatings estimate from OPW and Geological Survey Ireland LiDAR ground heights and the EPA’s river map: not an official flood map.

Flooding isn’t measured in Swords: only 6.3% of its homes stand on LiDAR ground heights, and the measure needs 80%, so flood isn’t counted for or against it. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t flood.

A rougher estimate, mostly from a 30 m satellite model, puts about 19% of homes low beside the River Ward. That model reads roofs and trees as ground, so it misses low homes more often than it invents them.

Official flood maps and past floods: floodinfo.ie

River levels

February 2026 brought the River Broadmeadow’s 3rd-highest day at Broadmeadow since 1977

Each winter’s highest level (October to September) at the OPW’s Broadmeadow gauge, in Swords, since 1977, in metres above the gauge’s zero. Nine days in ten it runs between 0.10 m and 0.60 m.

Each winter’s highest level, metres
Winter 1979–80: highest 1.74 m on 21 January 1980 · 48 days above the normal rangeWinter 1980–81: highest 1.02 m · 39 days above the normal rangeWinter 1981–82: highest 1.00 m · 35 days above the normal rangeWinter 1982–83: highest 1.34 m · 34 days above the normal rangeWinter 1983–84: highest 1.00 m · 37 days above the normal rangeWinter 1984–85: highest 1.19 m · 39 days above the normal rangeWinter 1985–86: highest 1.52 m on 26 August 1986 · 31 days above the normal rangeWinter 1986–87: highest 1.21 m · 28 days above the normal rangeWinter 1987–88: highest 0.95 m · 26 days above the normal rangeWinter 1990–91: highest 1.16 m · 48 days above the normal rangeWinter 1991–92: highest 1.20 m · 16 days above the normal rangeWinter 1992–93: highest 0.96 m · 21 days above the normal rangeWinter 1993–94: highest 1.27 m · 44 days above the normal rangeWinter 1994–95: highest 1.24 m · 32 days above the normal rangeWinter 1995–96: highest 0.99 m · 27 days above the normal rangeWinter 1996–97: highest 0.94 m · 14 days above the normal rangeWinter 1997–98: highest 1.00 m · 47 days above the normal rangeWinter 1998–99: highest 1.35 m · 38 days above the normal rangeWinter 1999–00: highest 0.81 m · 16 days above the normal rangeWinter 2001–02: highest 1.08 m · 18 days above the normal rangeWinter 2002–03: highest 1.78 m on 14 November 2002 · 27 days above the normal rangeWinter 2003–04: highest 0.81 m · 15 days above the normal rangeWinter 2004–05: highest 1.22 m · 21 days above the normal rangeWinter 2005–06: highest 0.92 m · 12 days above the normal rangeWinter 2006–07: highest 0.95 m · 31 days above the normal rangeWinter 2010–11: highest 0.95 m · 28 days above the normal rangeWinter 2011–12: highest 1.48 m · 28 days above the normal rangeWinter 2012–13: highest 1.14 m · 30 days above the normal rangeWinter 2013–14: highest 0.92 m · 29 days above the normal rangeWinter 2014–15: highest 1.70 m on 13 November 2014 · 25 days above the normal rangeWinter 2015–16: highest 1.34 m · 51 days above the normal rangeWinter 2016–17: highest 0.78 m · 7 days above the normal rangeWinter 2017–18: highest 1.20 m · 28 days above the normal rangeWinter 2018–19: highest 0.90 m · 20 days above the normal rangeWinter 2020–21: highest 1.08 m · 22 days above the normal rangeWinter 2021–22: highest 1.00 m · 19 days above the normal rangeWinter 2023–24: highest 1.47 m · 45 days above the normal rangeWinter 2024–25: highest 0.88 m · 11 days above the normal rangeWinter 2025–26: highest 1.75 m on 13 February 2026 · 43 days above the normal range’02–03’25–26Record 1.81 m, 2000Top of normal range
1979–802025–26
The highest days on record
  • 6 November 20001.81 m
  • 14 November 20021.78 m
  • 13 February 20261.75 m
  • 21 January 19801.74 m
  • 27 January 20261.73 m
  • 13 November 20141.70 m

Since 1977 the River Broadmeadow has run above its usual top on 1,130 days, most of them in the winters of 2015–16 and 1979–80.

Measured by its highest day, last winter (2025–26) was the 2nd-highest of the 39 on record here.

Source: OPW Hydro-Data (waterlevel.ie/hydro-data), Broadmeadow gauge (station 08008): daily maximum and mean levels, inspected and provisional data. The usual range is the 5th to 95th percentile of daily means, worked out by TownRatings. Live levels are on waterlevel.ie.

Warnings

Weather and flood warnings for Swords

Where to see the warnings in force, and what this page can’t count.

Met Éireann issues yellow, orange and red warnings for rain, wind and coastal flooding county by county; Swords is covered by County Dublin’s.

WarningWhat Met Éireann means by it
YellowWeather that isn’t unusual but can be dangerous in places: be aware.
OrangeInfrequent, dangerous weather that can put people and property at risk: be prepared.
RedRare, extremely dangerous weather: take action to protect yourself and your property.

Met Éireann doesn’t publish an open archive of past warnings, so how often warnings have covered Swords can’t be counted here.

Met Éireann warnings · OPW river levels (waterlevel.ie)

Flood scheme

No OPW flood relief scheme protects Swords

The Office of Public Works’ completed flood relief schemes and the areas each one benefits (OPW open data, CC BY 4.0).

Schemes
0
protect homes in Swords
Protected places in the county
12
Dublin, Clonsilla, Sandymount, Mulhuddart, East Wall
Nearest protected place
9.9 km
Clontarf West, as the crow flies
Low-lying homes
Not measured
the share a scheme would be built for

None of the OPW’s completed flood relief schemes has a benefiting area that takes in Swords’s homes. The OPW builds schemes where the risk to homes is greatest, so most towns have none.

In County Dublin, OPW schemes protect parts of 12 other places, including Dublin, Clonsilla, Sandymount, Mulhuddart, East Wall.

The protected places nearest here
TownSchemeDesigned forHomes behind itAway
Clontarf West DublinRiver Tolka ( Dublin) Flood Relief Scheme1 in 1003.3%9.9 km
Drumcondra DublinRiver Tolka ( Dublin) Flood Relief Scheme1 in 10015%10.0 km
Glasnevin DublinRiver Tolka ( Dublin) Flood Relief Scheme1 in 1001.8%10 km
Ballybough DublinRiver Tolka ( Dublin) Flood Relief Scheme1 in 10022%11 km
East Wall DublinSpencer Dock Flood Relief Scheme1 in 20082%12 km
Mulhuddart DublinRiver Tolka (Fingal) Flood Relief Scheme1 in 100under 0.1%12 km

Official flood maps and past floods: floodinfo.ie

Landslides

No home in Swords stands on landslide-prone ground

Geological Survey Ireland’s landslide susceptibility map (1:50,000), read at every home.

Homes on ground rated high or moderately high

SwordsCounty Dublin’s medianmedian of Irish towns
High or moderately high0%
0%5%

Swords is among the 64% of Irish towns with no home on such ground.

GSI rates ground from low to high by its slope, soil and rock. Most Irish landslides are on steep upland slopes and peat after heavy rain; a town on flat ground has almost none.

High means the ground could slide under the right conditions, such as days of heavy rain on a steep, wet slope; it isn’t a forecast that it will.

GSI landslide susceptibility, high and moderately high classes, share of the town’s homes on mapped ground (CC BY 4.0).

Radon

Swords is in the lowest radon band

The EPA’s radon map: for each 10 km square, the estimated share of homes above the national reference level of 200 Bq/m³.

7.5% of homes estimated above the reference level · 5–10% of homes0% of homes estimated above the reference level · Under 1% of homes0% of homes estimated above the reference level · Under 1% of homes3.8% of homes estimated above the reference level · 1–5% of homes0% of homes estimated above the reference level · Under 1% of homes0% of homes estimated above the reference level · Under 1% of homes32% of homes estimated above the reference level · Over 20% (High Radon Area)0% of homes estimated above the reference level · Under 1% of homes1.6% of homes estimated above the reference level · 1–5% of homesunder 0.1% of homes estimated above the reference level · Under 1% of homes3% of homes estimated above the reference level · 1–5% of homes0% of homes estimated above the reference level · Under 1% of homes0% of homes estimated above the reference level · Under 1% of homes0% of homes estimated above the reference level · Under 1% of homes0% of homes estimated above the reference level · Under 1% of homes© OpenStreetMap contributors · EPA
Under 1% of homes1–5% of homes5–10% of homesOver 20% (High Radon Area)
Share of Irish towns in each band
Under 1% of homes · Swords17%
1–5% of homes38%
5–10% of homes26%
10–20% (High Radon Area)11%
Over 20% (High Radon Area)9%

A square where 10% or more of homes are estimated above the reference level is a High Radon Area; 0% of Swords’s homes are in one. The map is an estimate by area: two neighbouring houses can differ a lot.

0%
of homes in a High Radon Area
3.8%
County Dublin’s median
4%
median of Irish towns

A test is the only way to know a home’s level: two detectors, left for three months in a living room and a bedroom.

EPA radon map of Ireland (10 km grid), averaged over the town’s homes (CC BY 4.0).

Industrial sites

3 EPA-licensed sites lie inside Swords

Factories, farms, power plants and waste sites that hold an EPA licence for their emissions, in Swords and around its centre.

3
licensed sites inside Swords
6
licensed sites within 5 km of the centre
0.7 km
to the nearest: Arch Chemicals BV
The 8 nearest licensed sites
SiteLicence and activityAway
Arch Chemicals BVIndustrial Emissions licence · chemicalsinside
Sk Biotek Ireland LimitedIndustrial Emissions licence · chemicalsinside
MSD International GmbH t/a MSD Ireland (Biotech Dublin)Industrial Emissions licence · chemicalsinside
Anglo Beef Processors Ireland (Swords)IPC licence2.7 km
International Aerospace Coatings LimitedIPC licence3.1 km
Dublin Aerospace LimitedIndustrial Emissions licence · solvents and coatings3.2 km
Amazon Data Services Ireland LimitedIndustrial Emissions licence · energy5.5 km
AES Recycling LimitedIndustrial Emissions licence · waste5.8 km
What the 30 licensed sites within 10 km do
ActivitySites
Waste10
Not classed in the register9
Energy6
Chemicals3
Solvents and coatings1
Food and drink1

Within 5 km: 4 under Industrial Emissions licences and 2 under older IPC licences.

An EPA licence sets what a site may release to air, water and land; it doesn’t mark the site as an accident hazard.

Sites holding dangerous substances in bulk come under the COMAH (Seveso) rules, but the HSA’s list of them has no open licence, so upper- and lower-tier sites aren’t counted here.

Source: EPA registers of Industrial Emissions, IPC and waste licences, sites licensed on 31 October 2026; distances in a straight line from the town’s centre.

Neighbours

Hazards in the places around Swords

Low-lying homes, radon and landslide ground, town by town.

Kinsealy-DrinanMalahideSantryDonabateDarndaleKilmoreKinsealy-DrinanMalahideSantryDonabateDarndaleKilmoreSwords
TownLow-lyingRadonLandslides
Swords–0%0%
Kinsealy-Drinan
7,526 · 2.5 km		–under 0.1%0%
Malahide
18,608 · 4.7 km		–1.6%under 0.1%
Santry
6,710 · 6.1 km		0%0%0%
Donabate
9,669 · 6.5 km		–0.3%0%
Darndale
14,675 · 6.7 km		0%0.6%0%
Kilmore
9,786 · 7.1 km		0%3.1%0%

None of the measured places around Swords has many homes standing low by big water.

A dash under Low-lying: not measured there (too few homes with detailed ground heights), not none.

Be ready

Get ready for what Swords faces

What to do, and what to ask before you move.

When the river rises
  • Never walk or drive through floodwater: 30 cm of moving water can float a car.
  • Move valuables, papers and medicines upstairs.
  • Turn off gas, electricity and water if you’re told to.
Met Éireann warnings · floodinfo.ie
Radon
  • Test over three months, in a living room and a bedroom.
  • Above 200 Bq/m³, a small sump and fan usually fixes it.
  • The EPA sells radon test kits at radon.ie and lists registered contractors who fix high readings.
radon.ie
When a storm is forecast
  • Bring in or tie down bins, trampolines and anything the wind can lift.
  • Keep away from coastal paths and piers while an orange or red warning is in force.
  • Charge phones and keep a torch: fallen lines are the commonest storm damage.
  • After the storm, report a fallen line to ESB Networks and keep well clear of it.
ESB Networks PowerCheck
Before you buy or rent in Swords
  • Ask whether the home has ever flooded, and get a buildings insurance quote before you commit: flood cover isn’t always offered.
  • Ask the seller or landlord for a radon test result, or test in your first months there.
  • Check the address on floodinfo.ie: the OPW’s flood maps and its record of past floods.
How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

  • An estimate, not a flood map. Low-lying homes is a TownRatings modelling step: each home’s ground height from LiDAR, against the level of the nearest big river (Strahler order 5 or more), lake or estuary within 1 km, or the sea within 2 km. A home within 5 m of the water’s level, or below 4 m near the sea, counts.
  • Flood counts only one way. A high share of low-lying homes lowers the Hazard risk Grade; a low share never raises it, because defences, small streams, culverts, groundwater and flash floods don’t show in ground heights. Below the national median a town scores as the median.
  • Defences aren’t counted. Flood defences aren’t taken off: the OPW scheme that protects the most homes is shown instead, with its design standard.
  • Measured where the heights are detailed. A town is measured, and counted, only where 80% of its homes stand on LiDAR heights. Elsewhere the page says flooding isn’t measured, never that the town is dry.
  • Radon is an estimate by area. The EPA’s radon map gives the estimated share of homes above 200 Bq/m³ for each 10 km square, averaged here over the town’s homes. It says where to test, not what one house holds.
  • The sea is measured by height. Homes count as low by the sea when their ground is under 4 m and within 2 km of coastal or estuary water; waves, surges and erosion aren’t modelled.
  • Landslide ground is a map of where slides could start. GSI’s susceptibility map rates the ground itself; it doesn’t record past slides or say when one will happen.
  • Bathing water is rated season by season. The EPA classes each identified bathing water from four seasons of samples; a rating says how clean the water has been, not how safe it is to swim.
  • One town, many streets. Risk is street by street. Check a specific address on floodinfo.ie before you buy or rent.

Check any address against the OPW’s official flood maps on floodinfo.ie

Questions about flooding and hazards in Swords

Does Swords flood?

For a single address, the OPW’s official flood maps and past floods are on floodinfo.ie.

Is radon a problem in Swords?

The EPA’s map estimates that about 0% of homes around Swords are above the radon reference level of 200 Bq/m³: a lower share than in 97% of Irish towns. 0% of its homes are in a High Radon Area. The only way to know a house is a three-month test.

Is Swords at risk of landslides?

No home in Swords stands on ground rated high or moderately high for landslides.

How does Swords compare with the places around it?

Radon estimates around Swords run from 0% in Santry to 3.1% in Kilmore; Swords’s own is 0%.

Where is the nearest bathing water to Swords?

Portmarnock, Velvet Strand Beach, 7.8 km away, was rated excellent for the 2025 season; 11 identified bathing waters lie within 15 km.

How is Swords’s Hazard risk Grade worked out?

Swords grades A+: radon, landslide ground and low-lying homes are each placed among Irish towns, and the grade averages them.

Flood: TownRatings’ estimate from ground heights, not an official flood map. Contains Irish Public Sector Data (Geological Survey Ireland, the Office of Public Works and the EPA) licensed under CC BY 4.0; Copernicus DEM © DLR e.V. and © Airbus, provided under COPERNICUS by the EU and ESA; © OpenStreetMap contributors. Radon and bathing water: EPA (CC BY 4.0). Landslide susceptibility: Geological Survey Ireland (CC BY 4.0).

Sources: low-lying homes: TownRatings’ estimate from GSI and OPW LiDAR, Copernicus GLO-30 and the EPA river network · radon: EPA radon map · landslides: GSI landslide susceptibility · bathing water: EPA bathing water quality · river levels: OPW Hydro-Data (waterlevel.ie/hydro-data) · industrial sites: EPA licence registers · the grade: TownRatings, from these figures. Under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).

Contains Central Statistics Office (CSO) data, Census 2022, and Tailte Éireann boundaries (CSO Urban Areas, Small Areas, local electoral areas, constituencies), under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).