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Kells Town CentrePhoto: Ian Rob · CC BY-SA 2.0
AHazard risk Grade
Flood & hazards in Kells · EPA, GSI and OPW data

Kells has low radon and steady ground, but its flood exposure isn’t measured

Low radon does most for Kells’s grade: with an estimated 0.6% of homes above the reference level, it grades A. Flood isn’t counted for or against it: too few of its homes have the detailed ground heights the measure needs.

0.6%of homes over the radon level
In brief

What stands out about Kells’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 13% of Kells’s homes have detailed ground heights, too few to measure how many stand low by big water.Low radonAn estimated 0.6% of homes are above the radon reference level, among the lowest anywhere.Steady groundNo home stands on ground rated high or moderately high for landslides; 36% of Irish towns have some homes on it.
By hazard

What Kells 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 · 13% of homes
Check the official flood maps

Radon

0.6%of homes estimated over the reference level
less radon than in 86% 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

Ground heights

13%of homes on detailed ground heights
Too few to count flood (80% needed)
Of 2,748 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

Kells grades A for hazard risk

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

Radon (0.6%)Better than 79% 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 Kells: too few of its homes have the detailed ground heights the measure needs, so its grade uses radon and landslide ground only.

Kells 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 (13% 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 Kells’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 Kells: only 13% 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 6.8% of homes low beside the River Blackwater. 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

The River Blackwater at O’Dalys Bridge peaked at 1.85 m in January 2016

Each winter’s highest level (October to September) at the OPW’s O’Dalys Bridge gauge, 8.0 km from Kells on the same river, since 1983, in metres above the gauge’s zero. Nine days in ten it runs between 0.15 m and 1.11 m.

Each winter’s highest level, metres
Winter 1984–85: highest 1.11 m · 0 days above the normal rangeWinter 1985–86: highest 1.03 m · 0 days above the normal rangeWinter 1986–87: highest 1.20 m · 4 days above the normal rangeWinter 1987–88: highest 1.38 m · 28 days above the normal rangeWinter 1988–89: highest 1.21 m · 4 days above the normal rangeWinter 1989–90: highest 1.43 m · 15 days above the normal rangeWinter 1990–91: highest 1.38 m · 22 days above the normal rangeWinter 1991–92: highest 1.29 m · 9 days above the normal rangeWinter 1992–93: highest 1.24 m · 13 days above the normal rangeWinter 1993–94: highest 1.45 m · 36 days above the normal rangeWinter 1994–95: highest 1.42 m · 24 days above the normal rangeWinter 1995–96: highest 1.84 m on 30 November 1995 · 19 days above the normal rangeWinter 1996–97: highest 1.36 m · 18 days above the normal rangeWinter 1997–98: highest 1.29 m · 18 days above the normal rangeWinter 1998–99: highest 1.30 m · 28 days above the normal rangeWinter 1999–00: highest 1.40 m · 20 days above the normal rangeWinter 2000–01: highest 1.52 m · 24 days above the normal rangeWinter 2001–02: highest 1.39 m · 29 days above the normal rangeWinter 2002–03: highest 1.33 m · 31 days above the normal rangeWinter 2003–04: highest 1.25 m · 6 days above the normal rangeWinter 2004–05: highest 1.49 m · 8 days above the normal rangeWinter 2005–06: highest 1.34 m · 10 days above the normal rangeWinter 2006–07: highest 1.52 m · 32 days above the normal rangeWinter 2007–08: highest 1.85 m on 19 August 2008 · 33 days above the normal rangeWinter 2012–13: highest 1.37 m · 22 days above the normal rangeWinter 2014–15: highest 1.57 m on 16 November 2014 · 16 days above the normal rangeWinter 2015–16: highest 1.85 m on 1 January 2016 · 64 days above the normal rangeWinter 2016–17: highest 1.19 m · 5 days above the normal rangeWinter 2017–18: highest 1.33 m · 16 days above the normal rangeWinter 2018–19: highest 1.51 m · 19 days above the normal rangeWinter 2019–20: highest 1.76 m on 26 February 2020 · 40 days above the normal rangeWinter 2020–21: highest 1.37 m · 21 days above the normal rangeWinter 2021–22: highest 1.43 m · 22 days above the normal rangeWinter 2022–23: highest 1.57 m on 21 October 2022 · 63 days above the normal rangeWinter 2023–24: highest 1.38 m · 26 days above the normal rangeWinter 2024–25: highest 1.09 m · 0 days above the normal rangeWinter 2025–26: highest 1.36 m · 48 days above the normal range’15–16’07–08’95–96Record 1.85 m, 2016Top of normal range
1984–852025–26
The highest days on record
  • 1 January 20161.85 m
  • 19 August 20081.85 m
  • 30 November 19951.84 m
  • 26 February 20201.76 m
  • 8 December 20151.71 m
  • 21 October 20221.57 m

Since 1983 the River Blackwater has run above its usual top on 793 days, most of them in the winters of 2015–16 and 2022–23.

Measured by its highest day, last winter (2025–26) was the 22nd-highest of the 37 on record here.

Source: OPW Hydro-Data (waterlevel.ie/hydro-data), O’Dalys Bridge gauge (station 07011): 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 Kells

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; Kells is covered by County Meath’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 Kells can’t be counted here.

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

Flood scheme

No OPW flood relief scheme protects Kells

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 Kells
Protected places in the county
4
Laytown-Bettystown-Mornington-Donacarney, Dunboyne, Duleek, Clonee
Nearest protected place
31 km
Duleek, 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 Kells’s homes. The OPW builds schemes where the risk to homes is greatest, so most towns have none.

In County Meath, OPW schemes protect parts of 4 other places, including Laytown-Bettystown-Mornington-Donacarney, Dunboyne, Duleek, Clonee.

The protected places nearest here
TownSchemeDesigned forHomes behind itAway
Duleek MeathDuleek Flood Relief Scheme1 in 10012%31 km
Mullingar WestmeathMullingar Flood Relief Scheme1 in 1000.2%38 km
Laytown-Bettystown-Mornington-Donacarney MeathMornington Flood Relief Scheme1 in 1009.1%41 km
Dunboyne MeathRiver Tolka (Clonee and Dunboyne) Scheme1 in 10014%44 km
Clonee MeathRiver Tolka (Clonee and Dunboyne) Scheme1 in 10057%46 km
Clonsilla DublinRiver Tolka (Clonee and Dunboyne) Scheme1 in 1000.5%48 km

Official flood maps and past floods: floodinfo.ie

Landslides

No home in Kells 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

KellsCounty Meath’s medianmedian of Irish towns
High or moderately high0%
0%5%

Kells 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

Kells 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.

7.6% of homes estimated above the reference level · 5–10% of homes24% of homes estimated above the reference level · Over 20% (High Radon Area)4% of homes estimated above the reference level · 1–5% of homes10% of homes estimated above the reference level · 10–20% (High Radon Area)12% of homes estimated above the reference level · 10–20% (High Radon Area)6.9% of homes estimated above the reference level · 5–10% of homes28% of homes estimated above the reference level · Over 20% (High Radon Area)0.6% 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 homes31% of homes estimated above the reference level · Over 20% (High Radon Area)© OpenStreetMap contributors · EPA
Under 1% of homes1–5% of homes5–10% of homes10–20% (High Radon Area)Over 20% (High Radon Area)
Share of Irish towns in each band
Under 1% of homes · Kells17%
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 Kells’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
0.5%
County Meath’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

2 EPA-licensed sites lie inside Kells

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

2
licensed sites inside Kells
2
licensed sites within 5 km of the centre
0.5 km
to the nearest: ABEC TECHNOLOGIES EUROPE LIMITED
The 5 nearest licensed sites
SiteLicence and activityAway
ABEC TECHNOLOGIES EUROPE LIMITEDIPC licenceinside
Complex Tooling & Molding LimitedIPC licenceinside
Local Power LimitedIndustrial Emissions licence · waste5.4 km
P Carney LimitedIndustrial Emissions licence · metals9.6 km
Wellman International LimitedIPC licence10 km
What the 5 licensed sites within 10 km do
ActivitySites
Not classed in the register3
Waste1
Metals1

Within 5 km: 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 Kells

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

MullaghAthboyNavanVirginiaOldcastleMullaghAthboyNavanVirginiaOldcastleKells
TownLow-lyingRadonLandslides
Kells–0.6%0%
Mullagh
1,651 · 10 km		0%11%0%
Athboy
2,596 · 12 km		0%28%0%
Navan
33,886 · 16 km		1.5%0%under 0.1%
Virginia
3,211 · 18 km		0.8%6.8%0%
Oldcastle
1,409 · 19 km		–4.9%0%

None of the measured places around Kells 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 Kells 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 Kells
  • 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 Kells

Does Kells flood?

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

Is radon a problem in Kells?

The EPA’s map estimates that about 0.6% of homes around Kells are above the radon reference level of 200 Bq/m³: a lower share than in 86% 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 Kells at risk of landslides?

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

How does Kells compare with the places around it?

Radon estimates around Kells run from 0% in Navan to 28% in Athboy; Kells’s own is 0.6%.

How is Kells’s Hazard risk Grade worked out?

Kells 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 · 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).