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Town Hall and Shambles Market Hall, Stockton on TeesPhoto: Petegal-half · CC BY-SA 3.0
BHazard risk Grade
Flood & hazards in Stockton-on-Tees · Environment Agency

Heavy rain is Stockton-on-Tees’s main flood risk: 5.7% of homes, against under 0.1% from rivers or the sea

On the Environment Agency’s maps, which allow for flood defences, “high or medium” means at least a 1 in 100 chance of flooding from rivers or the sea in any year. Hazard risk puts Stockton-on-Tees at B: #29 of 52 in County Durham.

2013worst recorded flood4flood warnings since 20060.7%at low risk
In brief

What stands out about Stockton-on-Tees’s hazards

From the Environment Agency’s maps and records and the BGS radon atlas, below.

Rain, more than the river5.7% of homes sit where heavy rain can flood the streets, against under 0.1% at risk from rivers and the sea.Remembers 2013Floodwater covered 46 hectares of today’s Stockton-on-Tees in 2013; 383 of today’s households live inside past flood outlines.The River Tees ran its 2nd-highest in July 20264.07 m at Stockton on 20 July 2026, 15 cm under the record set in 2004.4 flood warnings since 2006For the parts of Stockton-on-Tees the Environment Agency warns directly; the most recent on 25 December 2015.
By hazard

What Stockton-on-Tees faces

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

Rivers and the sea

under 0.1%of homes at high or medium risk
Fewer than the typical UK town · more than 37% of towns
14 homes by the EA’s own count

Surface water

5.7%of homes at high or medium risk
More than 75% of UK towns
About 2,120 households

Past floods

9years with a recorded flood
Last recorded: February 2020
383 households inside past outlines

The River Tees

4.07 mhighest in winter 2025–26 at Stockton
2nd-highest of 31 winters
Record 4.22 m, October 2004

Flood warnings

4flood warnings since 2006
82 flood alerts for the wider area
Last warning 25 December 2015

Radon

0%of the town in a radon Affected Area
Highest band here: 10–30% of homes
0% in squares of 5% or more
Not on this page: coastal erosion, subsidence and shrink-swell ground (the British Geological Survey licenses it), groundwater flooding and reservoir failure.
Hazard risk Grade

Stockton-on-Tees grades B for hazard risk

Flood risk from rivers and the sea, against all UK towns.

Homes at high or medium flood risk (under 0.1%)Fewer than 62% of UK towns

The share of homes at high or medium risk from rivers and the sea, ranked against every UK town of 1,000 or more: fewer homes at risk is better. Towns with none at high or medium risk are ordered by their share at low risk, so they don’t all share one score. Surface water and radon aren’t graded: they are described below.

Flood map

Where the water goes in Stockton-on-Tees

Turn layers on and off. Blue is the risk from rivers and the sea; pink is where heavy rain collects. Both allow for flood defences.

Recorded flood: 1977Recorded flood: 1978Recorded flood: 1979Recorded flood: 1995Lustrum Beck: 2000Recorded flood: 2009Lustrum Beck: 2012Recorded flood: 2013Recorded flood: 2020© OpenStreetMap contributors · EA NaFRA2
HighMediumLowrivers & seaHighMediumLowsurface waterStockton-on-Tees’s built-up area

The river and sea risk follows the River Tees and the Lustrum Beck. Surface-water risk is spread across the town, in dips, underpasses and along small streams, which is why more homes are exposed to it.

Rivers and the sea

Under 0.1% of Stockton-on-Tees’s homes are at high or medium risk from rivers or the sea

The Environment Agency’s national map, allowing for defences. A further 0.7% are at low risk.

High risk0%of homes · 1 in 30 a year or more3 homes, EA count
Medium riskunder 0.1%of homes · 1 in 30 to 1 in 10011 homes, EA count
Low risk0.7%of homes · 1 in 100 to 1 in 1,000350 homes, EA count
Where Stockton-on-Tees sits among 3,735 UK towns
35%None
23%Under 0.5%Stockton-on-Tees
9%0.5–1%
11%1–2%
11%2–5%
5%5–10%
3%10–20%
2%20% +

Share of each UK town’s homes at high or medium risk from rivers and the sea. 35% of UK towns have none; Stockton-on-Tees has more than 37% of towns.

Towns its size: 9th of 94 from the fewest homes at risk
#TownPeopleHigh or med.
1Oldham Greater Manchester110,7220%
2Birkenhead Merseyside109,8540%
3Dudley West Midlands64,2770%
…
7Harlow Essex93,570under 0.1%
8Doncaster South Yorkshire87,440under 0.1%
9Stockton-on-Tees County Durham84,824under 0.1%
10Scunthorpe Lincolnshire81,286under 0.1%
11Kettering Northamptonshire63,149under 0.1%
…
93Maidenhead Berkshire67,3916%
94Grimsby Lincolnshire85,9158.9%

UK towns of 59,000 to 119,000 people.

The Environment Agency’s Risk of Flooding from Rivers and Sea (NaFRA2, June 2026) counts each postcode’s homes by band; the shares weight those postcodes by Census 2021 households. The EA counts include homes built since 2021.

Surface water

5.7% of Stockton-on-Tees’s homes are at high or medium risk from surface water

Surface water is rain that falls faster than drains and the ground can take it. It is mapped separately from rivers and the sea, and it is not in the Hazard risk Grade.

Surface water5.7%
Rivers and the seaunder 0.1%
0%7%14% of homes

About 3.1% of homes are at high risk of surface-water flooding (a 1 in 30 chance or more each year) and 2.6% at medium risk: roughly 2,120 households. A further 7.6% face a low risk from surface water. That is more than 75% of UK towns.

~2,120
households at high or medium risk
7.6%
of homes at low risk
75%
of UK towns have a smaller share
50,812
addresses read on the map

Our estimate: every address in the town (ONS NSUL) read on the Environment Agency’s Risk of Flooding from Surface Water map (NaFRA2, 2025), each postcode’s share weighted by its Census 2021 households. Neither agency publishes a count of homes for surface water, so treat it as a guide; one street can differ from the next.

Flood history

Stockton-on-Tees has flooded in 9 recorded years since 1977, most of all in 2013

Every flood the Environment Agency has mapped inside Stockton-on-Tees’s built-up area, newest first. The record is fullest for big river floods; small and surface-water floods are often missing.

  1. 2020February 2020: River flooding recorded1 hectare inside today’s built-up area · Storm Ciara, Thornaby,
  2. 2013December 2013: The sea came in46 hectares inside today’s built-up area · Tees Estuary, including Port Clarence, Bishopton Road in Stockton in
  3. 2012September 2012: The Lustrum Beck overflowed20 hectares inside today’s built-up area
  4. 2009May and July 2009: River flooding recordedUnder 1 hectare inside today’s built-up area · Ox Bridge, Oxbridge, Grays Road, Stockton
  5. 2000November 2000: The Lustrum Beck overflowed26 hectares inside today’s built-up area · Lustrum Beck
  6. 1995January 1995: River flooding recorded1 hectare inside today’s built-up area
Show all 9
  1. 1979March 1979: River flooding recorded45 hectares inside today’s built-up area
  2. 1978January 1978: The sea came in18 hectares inside today’s built-up area
  3. 1977January 1977: River flooding recordedUnder 1 hectare inside today’s built-up area · Stockton-on-Tees south, Stockton-on-Tees north
The worst: 201346 ha

Floodwater covered 46 hectares of what is now Stockton-on-Tees in 2013, the largest flood the record holds here (December).

383 of Stockton-on-Tees’s households today live inside the outline of a recorded flood.

Since 2013, the largest recorded flood inside the town covered 1 hectare.

River levels

The River Tees in July 2026 rose to its 2nd-highest level since 1995

The highest level each winter (October to September) at the Environment Agency’s Stockton gauge (Hartburn), since 1995. The river normally runs between 2.61 m and 3.20 m here.

Highest level each winter, metres
Winter 1995–96: highest 3.39 m · 1 days above the normal rangeWinter 1996–97: highest 3.23 m · 2 days above the normal rangeWinter 1997–98: highest 3.33 m · 1 days above the normal rangeWinter 1998–99: highest 3.31 m · 1 days above the normal rangeWinter 1999–00: highest 3.19 m · 0 days above the normal rangeWinter 2000–01: highest 3.39 m · 9 days above the normal rangeWinter 2001–02: highest 3.48 m · 2 days above the normal rangeWinter 2002–03: highest 3.18 m · 0 days above the normal rangeWinter 2003–04: highest 4.01 m on 15 September 2004 · 4 days above the normal rangeWinter 2004–05: highest 4.22 m on 2 October 2004 · 10 days above the normal rangeWinter 2005–06: highest 3.37 m · 1 days above the normal rangeWinter 2006–07: highest 3.18 m · 0 days above the normal rangeWinter 2007–08: highest 3.25 m · 1 days above the normal rangeWinter 2008–09: highest 3.51 m · 1 days above the normal rangeWinter 2009–10: highest 3.29 m · 2 days above the normal rangeWinter 2010–11: highest 3.30 m · 1 days above the normal rangeWinter 2011–12: highest 3.36 m · 2 days above the normal rangeWinter 2012–13: highest 3.42 m · 5 days above the normal rangeWinter 2013–14: highest 3.43 m · 4 days above the normal rangeWinter 2014–15: highest 3.37 m · 1 days above the normal rangeWinter 2015–16: highest 3.44 m · 7 days above the normal rangeWinter 2016–17: highest 3.23 m · 1 days above the normal rangeWinter 2017–18: highest 3.38 m · 3 days above the normal rangeWinter 2018–19: highest 3.55 m on 30 September 2019 · 1 days above the normal rangeWinter 2019–20: highest 3.69 m on 10 February 2020 · 7 days above the normal rangeWinter 2020–21: highest 3.23 m · 2 days above the normal rangeWinter 2021–22: highest 3.59 m on 20 February 2022 · 3 days above the normal rangeWinter 2022–23: highest 3.24 m · 2 days above the normal rangeWinter 2023–24: highest 3.52 m on 9 April 2024 · 8 days above the normal rangeWinter 2024–25: highest 3.40 m · 2 days above the normal rangeWinter 2025–26: highest 4.07 m on 20 July 2026 · 1 days above the normal range’04–05’25–26’19–20Record 4.22 m, 2004Top of normal range
1995–962025–26
The highest days on record
  • 2 October 20044.22 m
  • 20 July 20264.07 m
  • 10 February 20203.69 m
  • 19 October 20043.67 m
  • 20 February 20223.59 m
  • 30 September 20193.55 m

The River Tees has topped its normal range on 85 days since 1995, most in the winters of 2004–05 and 2000–01. By its highest day, the winter of 2025–26 was the 2nd-highest of the 31.

Environment Agency Hydrology API, Stockton (station L3907), daily maximum level; the record and normal range from the EA’s stage scale. Live river levels are on GOV.UK’s Check for flooding.

Flood warnings

No flood warning or alert is in force for Stockton-on-Tees · 4 warnings in 20 years

The Environment Agency has 6 flood warning areas and 2 alert areas reaching into the town; warnings since the service began in 2006.

Now: no flood warnings or alerts for Stockton-on-Tees (checked 14 November 2026, 04:36). Check for flooding on GOV.UK →
Warnings and alerts each year for areas in Stockton-on-Tees
06
07
08
09
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
Flood warning (flooding expected)Flood alert (flooding possible)

The warning area covering the most of Stockton-on-Tees, Lustrum Beck at Stockton-on-Tees, has not had a flood warning since 2006. Of the 4 warnings, 2 were for Lustrum Beck at Newtown Riverside and Hartburn Avenue, Stockton-on-Tees and 1 for Tees estuary at Portrack, Stockton-on-Tees and Middlesbrough.

2015 had the most warnings (2); 2024 the most alerts (13). The most recent warning was on 25 December 2015.

Show the 8 warning and alert areas
AreaKindSince 2006Now
Lustrum Beck at Newtown Riverside and Hartburn Avenue, Stockton-on-TeesWarning area2None
Tees estuary at Portrack, Stockton-on-Tees and MiddlesbroughWarning area1None
Lustrum Beck at Oxbridge Riverside and Primrose Hill Industrial Estate, Stockton-on-TeesWarning area1None
River Tees at ThornabyWarning area0None
River Tees at University College, ThornabyWarning area0None
Lustrum Beck at Stockton-on-TeesWarning area0None
Lower River Tees and estuarine tributariesAlert area77None
Tidal River TeesAlert area5None

Environment Agency Historic Flood Warnings (first issues only, not updates; “flood watch” counted as an alert before 2011) and the real-time flood-monitoring API. Sign up for free warnings on GOV.UK or call Floodline, 0345 988 1188.

Radon

Parts of Stockton-on-Tees are in radon Affected Areas, up to the 10–30% band

Radon is a natural radioactive gas from the ground; long exposure raises the risk of lung cancer. The atlas gives the chance that a home in each 1 km square is above the UK action level (200 Bq/m³).

NZ4017: Under 1% of homes above the action levelNZ4018: Under 1% of homes above the action levelNZ4019: Under 1% of homes above the action levelNZ4020: Under 1% of homes above the action levelNZ4021: 1–3% of homes above the action levelNZ4022: 10–30% of homes above the action levelNZ4117: Under 1% of homes above the action levelNZ4118: Under 1% of homes above the action levelNZ4119: Under 1% of homes above the action levelNZ4120: Under 1% of homes above the action levelNZ4121: Under 1% of homes above the action levelNZ4122: Under 1% of homes above the action levelNZ4216: Under 1% of homes above the action levelNZ4217: Under 1% of homes above the action levelNZ4218: Under 1% of homes above the action levelNZ4219: Under 1% of homes above the action levelNZ4220: Under 1% of homes above the action levelNZ4221: Under 1% of homes above the action levelNZ4222: Under 1% of homes above the action levelNZ4316: Under 1% of homes above the action levelNZ4317: Under 1% of homes above the action levelNZ4318: Under 1% of homes above the action levelNZ4319: Under 1% of homes above the action levelNZ4320: Under 1% of homes above the action levelNZ4321: Under 1% of homes above the action levelNZ4322: Under 1% of homes above the action levelNZ4323: Under 1% of homes above the action levelNZ4416: Under 1% of homes above the action levelNZ4417: Under 1% of homes above the action levelNZ4418: Under 1% of homes above the action levelNZ4419: Under 1% of homes above the action levelNZ4420: Under 1% of homes above the action levelNZ4421: Under 1% of homes above the action levelNZ4422: Under 1% of homes above the action levelNZ4423: Under 1% of homes above the action levelNZ4519: Under 1% of homes above the action levelNZ4520: Under 1% of homes above the action levelNZ4521: Under 1% of homes above the action levelNZ4522: Under 1% of homes above the action levelNZ4619: Under 1% of homes above the action levelNZ4620: Under 1% of homes above the action levelNZ4621: Under 1% of homes above the action levelNZ4719: Under 1% of homes above the action levelNZ4720: Under 1% of homes above the action level© OpenStreetMap contributors · BGS/UKHSA
Under 1%10–30%
Share of the town’s area in each band
Under 1% of homes100%
10–30% of homes0%

0% of Stockton-on-Tees’s built-up area is in a radon Affected Area (1% of homes or more above the action level), and 0% in squares of 5% or more, mostly on the north-west side of the town.

The squares are indicative: each takes the highest band found anywhere inside it, so most homes in a coloured square are below it. Only a three-month test in the home gives a real answer.

BGS/UKHSA Indicative Atlas of Radon in Great Britain, version 3. Check an address at UKradon.org.

Neighbours

Flood risk in the places around Stockton-on-Tees

Share of homes at high or medium and at low risk from rivers and the sea. Tap a town for its page.

Thornaby-on-Tees: Hazard risk C−Billingham: Hazard risk CEgglescliffe: Hazard risk BIngleby Barwick: Hazard risk BStillington: Hazard risk AWynyard: Hazard risk B+Stainton: Hazard risk AThornaby-on-TeesBillinghamEgglescliffeIngleby BarwickStillingtonWynyardStaintonStockton-on-Tees
ABCD
TownPeopleHigh or mediumLowHazard
Stockton-on-Tees84,824under 0.1%0.7%B
Thornaby-on-Tees23,3522%1.3%C−
Billingham33,9171.2%0.4%C
Egglescliffe10,250under 0.1%under 0.1%B
Ingleby Barwick23,380under 0.1%under 0.1%B
Stillington1,4070%0%A
Wynyard4,0400%under 0.1%B+
Stainton1,8170%0%A

Thornaby-on-Tees, 2.6 miles south-east, has the most homes at risk around Stockton-on-Tees (2% at high or medium). Stillington, Wynyard and Stainton have none.

Be ready

Get ready for what Stockton-on-Tees faces

Free warnings, what to do in a cloudburst, and what to check before you move.

Get the warnings
  • Sign up free for Environment Agency flood warnings by text, call or email.
  • Floodline: 0345 988 1188, 24 hours.
  • Stockton-on-Tees’s warning areas include Tees estuary at Portrack, Stockton-on-Tees and Middlesbrough and Lustrum Beck at Stockton-on-Tees.
Sign up ↗
In a cloudburst
  • Surface water rises in minutes, often with no warning issued: stay out of underpasses and dips.
  • Keep the gullies and drains outside your home clear of leaves.
  • Report a blocked road drain to the council.
Radon
  • Test over three months, in a living room and a bedroom.
  • Above 200 Bq/m³, a small sump and fan usually fixes it.
  • New homes in radon areas are built with protection: basic from 3%, full from 10%.
UKradon ↗
Before you buy or rent in Stockton-on-Tees
  • Check the address on GOV.UK’s long-term flood risk service: it gives rivers and sea and surface water separately.
  • Ask whether the home has flooded or had a flood insurance claim; the TA6 property form asks the seller.
  • Homes built before 2009 can get flood cover through Flood Re, the government-backed scheme; newer homes can’t.
  • Check radon for the address on UKradon.org (a small fee) or ask the seller for a test result.
How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

  • Defences are counted. Both agencies’ maps allow for flood defences and the chance they are overtopped or fail, so a town behind a defence scheme can show few homes at high risk and many at low risk.
  • Surface water is our estimate. Neither agency publishes a count of homes at risk from surface water, so we read each address on the map. A flat on a hill and a basement in a dip can share a postcode.
  • Past floods are what was recorded. The flood outlines come from surveys, aerial photographs and reports; many small floods, and most surface-water floods, were never mapped.
  • One town, many streets. Risk is street by street. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s long-term flood risk service before you buy or rent.

Check the long-term flood risk for an address on GOV.UK →

Questions about flooding and hazards in Stockton-on-Tees

Does Stockton-on-Tees flood?

The last flood the Environment Agency recorded inside the town was in February 2020. Under 0.1% of homes are at high or medium risk from rivers and the sea on the Environment Agency’s maps, which allow for flood defences. About 5.7% of homes are at high or medium risk from surface water, when heavy rain overwhelms the drains. Stockton-on-Tees grades B for hazard risk against UK towns.

Which parts of Stockton-on-Tees are at risk of flooding?

From rivers and the sea, the places the Environment Agency warns directly: Lustrum Beck at Newtown Riverside and Hartburn Avenue, Stockton-on-Tees, Tees estuary at Portrack, Stockton-on-Tees and Middlesbrough, Lustrum Beck at Oxbridge Riverside and Primrose Hill Industrial Estate, Stockton-on-Tees and Lustrum Beck at Stockton-on-Tees. Surface water can collect in low spots anywhere in the town. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s long-term flood risk service.

When did Stockton-on-Tees last flood?

The recorded flood outlines inside the town run from 1977 to 2020 (9 years); the largest was in 2013. Flood warnings have been issued for parts of the town since 2006, most recently on 25 December 2015.

Is Stockton-on-Tees at risk of surface water flooding?

About 3.1% of homes are at high risk and 2.6% at medium risk from surface water, against under 0.1% at high or medium risk from rivers and the sea. Surface water floods come with little warning, and the agencies don’t issue warnings for them.

Is radon a problem in Stockton-on-Tees?

0% of the town’s built-up area is in a radon Affected Area on the BGS/UKHSA atlas, and 0% is in 1 km squares where 5% or more of homes may be above the action level. Most homes are below it; a three-month test is the only way to know.

Are there flood warnings in Stockton-on-Tees now?

No flood warning or alert was in force near Stockton-on-Tees at 14 November 2026, 04:36. Live warnings are on GOV.UK’s Check for flooding service and Floodline, 0345 988 1188.

Contains Environment Agency information © Environment Agency and/or database right 2026. Contains British Geological Survey materials © UKRI 2026.

Sources: Environment Agency Risk of Flooding from Rivers and Sea, postcodes in areas at risk (June 2026); Natural Resources Wales Flood Risk Assessment Wales (May 2026); ONS Census 2021 households by postcode · Environment Agency Risk of Flooding from Surface Water (NaFRA2, 2025) and Natural Resources Wales Flood Risk Assessment Wales surface water and small watercourses, read at every address (ONS National Statistics UPRN Lookup, September 2026) and weighted by Census 2021 households by postcode · Environment Agency Recorded Flood Outlines and Natural Resources Wales historic flood map, inside the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary · Environment Agency Hydrology API (daily maximum river level) and flood-monitoring stage scales · Environment Agency real-time flood-monitoring API · Environment Agency Historic Flood Warnings (January 2006 to June 2026) and flood warning and alert areas · BGS/UKHSA Indicative Atlas of Radon in Great Britain, version 3, by 1 km square · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.