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DHazard risk Grade
Flood & hazards in Tavistock · Environment Agency

Tavistock is a river town: 6.9% of its homes are at high or medium risk from rivers or the sea, more than in 93% of UK towns

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. Tavistock grades D for hazard risk: #38 of 47 in Devon.

1979worst recorded flood1flood warnings since 2006100%in a radon Affected Area
In brief

What stands out about Tavistock’s hazards

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

A river town6.9% of homes are at high or medium risk from rivers or the sea, more than 93% of UK towns.Remembers 1979Floodwater covered 4 hectares of today’s Tavistock in 1979.1 flood warning since 2006For the parts of Tavistock the Environment Agency warns directly; the most recent on 28 October 2021.Radon in parts100% of the town is in 1 km squares where 5% or more of homes may be above the radon action level.
By hazard

What Tavistock faces

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

Rivers and the sea

6.9%of homes at high or medium risk
More than the typical UK town · more than 93% of towns
451 homes by the EA’s own count

Surface water

3.9%of homes at high or medium risk
More than 55% of UK towns
Rivers and sea: 6.9%

Past floods

3years with a recorded flood
Last recorded: February 2016
17 households inside past outlines

The River Tavy

2.32 mhighest in winter 2025–26 at Tavistock
18th-highest of 32 winters
Record 3.05 m, February 2016

Flood warnings

1flood warnings since 2006
72 flood alerts for the wider area
Last warning 28 October 2021

Radon

100%of the town in a radon Affected Area
Highest band here: Over 30% of homes
100% 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

Tavistock grades D for hazard risk

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

Homes at high or medium flood risk (6.9%)Fewer than 7% 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 Tavistock

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: 1979Recorded flood: 1981Recorded flood: 2016© OpenStreetMap contributors · EA NaFRA2
HighMediumLowrivers & seaHighMediumLowsurface waterTavistock’s built-up area

The river and sea risk follows the River Tavy and the River Walkham. Surface-water risk is patchier: dips, underpasses and small streams.

Rivers and the sea

6.9% of Tavistock’s homes are at high or medium risk from rivers or the sea

The Environment Agency’s national map, allowing for defences. A further 6.8% are at low risk.

High risk5.4%of homes · 1 in 30 a year or more354 homes, EA count
Medium risk1.5%of homes · 1 in 30 to 1 in 10097 homes, EA count
Low risk6.8%of homes · 1 in 100 to 1 in 1,000431 homes, EA count
Where Tavistock sits among 3,735 UK towns
35%None
23%Under 0.5%
9%0.5–1%
11%1–2%
11%2–5%
5%5–10%Tavistock
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; Tavistock has more than 93% of towns.

Towns its size: 384th of 406 from the fewest homes at risk
#TownPeopleHigh or med.
1Clifton Greater Manchester17,7480%
2Oswestry Shropshire17,5000%
3Royston Hertfordshire17,4430%
…
382Rhondda Mid Glamorgan13,2716.8%
383Mold Clwyd9,8906.8%
384Tavistock Devon12,6766.9%
385Wells Somerset12,0977%
386South Hayling Hampshire15,3057.4%
…
405Bentley South Yorkshire12,04440%
406Dunscroft and Hatfield South Yorkshire14,00051%

UK towns of 9,000 to 18,000 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

Rivers and the sea, more than heavy rain, are Tavistock’s flood risk

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 water3.9%
Rivers and the sea6.9%
0%7%14% of homes

About 2.2% of homes are at high risk of surface-water flooding (a 1 in 30 chance or more each year) and 1.6% at medium risk: roughly 230 households. A further 6.8% face a low risk from surface water. That is more than 55% of UK towns.

~230
households at high or medium risk
6.8%
of homes at low risk
55%
of UK towns have a smaller share
7,644
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

Tavistock has flooded in 3 recorded years since 1979, most of all in 1979

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

  1. 2016February 2016: River flooding recordedUnder 1 hectare inside today’s built-up area
  2. 1981May 1981: River flooding recordedUnder 1 hectare inside today’s built-up area
  3. 1979December 1979: River flooding recorded4 hectares inside today’s built-up area
The worst: 19794 ha

Floodwater covered 4 hectares of what is now Tavistock in 1979, the largest flood the record holds here (December).

17 of Tavistock’s households today live inside the outline of a recorded flood.

Since 1979, the largest recorded flood inside the town covered under 1 hectare.

River levels

The River Tavy at Tavistock: highest 3.05 m, in February 2016

The highest level each winter (October to September) at the Environment Agency’s Tavistock gauge, since 1991. The river normally runs between 0.78 m and 1.65 m here.

Highest level each winter, metres
Winter 1993–94: highest 2.33 m · 94 days above the normal rangeWinter 1994–95: highest 2.13 m · 17 days above the normal rangeWinter 1996–97: highest 2.11 m · 10 days above the normal rangeWinter 1997–98: highest 2.16 m · 12 days above the normal rangeWinter 1998–99: highest 2.77 m on 19 January 1999 · 16 days above the normal rangeWinter 1999–00: highest 2.39 m · 12 days above the normal rangeWinter 2000–01: highest 2.94 m on 31 December 2000 · 23 days above the normal rangeWinter 2001–02: highest 2.26 m · 11 days above the normal rangeWinter 2002–03: highest 1.98 m · 8 days above the normal rangeWinter 2003–04: highest 2.24 m · 12 days above the normal rangeWinter 2004–05: highest 1.86 m · 5 days above the normal rangeWinter 2005–06: highest 2.65 m on 6 November 2005 · 9 days above the normal rangeWinter 2006–07: highest 2.37 m · 20 days above the normal rangeWinter 2007–08: highest 2.17 m · 16 days above the normal rangeWinter 2008–09: highest 2.47 m · 12 days above the normal rangeWinter 2009–10: highest 2.15 m · 6 days above the normal rangeWinter 2010–11: highest 1.88 m · 13 days above the normal rangeWinter 2011–12: highest 2.23 m · 13 days above the normal rangeWinter 2012–13: highest 2.37 m · 23 days above the normal rangeWinter 2013–14: highest 2.87 m on 18 December 2013 · 21 days above the normal rangeWinter 2014–15: highest 2.36 m · 6 days above the normal rangeWinter 2015–16: highest 3.05 m on 6 February 2016 · 21 days above the normal rangeWinter 2016–17: highest 2.54 m · 7 days above the normal rangeWinter 2017–18: highest 1.97 m · 10 days above the normal rangeWinter 2018–19: highest 2.59 m · 15 days above the normal rangeWinter 2019–20: highest 2.47 m · 16 days above the normal rangeWinter 2020–21: highest 2.60 m on 19 December 2020 · 19 days above the normal rangeWinter 2021–22: highest 2.47 m · 12 days above the normal rangeWinter 2022–23: highest 2.42 m · 24 days above the normal rangeWinter 2023–24: highest 2.00 m · 15 days above the normal rangeWinter 2024–25: highest 2.24 m · 12 days above the normal rangeWinter 2025–26: highest 2.32 m · 20 days above the normal range’15–16’00–01’13–14Record 3.05 m, 2016Top of normal range
1993–942025–26
The highest days on record
  • 6 February 20163.05 m
  • 31 December 20002.94 m
  • 18 December 20132.87 m
  • 19 January 19992.77 m
  • 12 September 19932.76 m
  • 6 November 20052.65 m

The River Tavy has topped its normal range on 530 days since 1991, most in the winters of 1993–94 and 2022–23. By its highest day, the winter of 2025–26 was the 18th-highest of the 32.

Environment Agency Hydrology API, Tavistock (station 47172), 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 Tavistock · 1 warning in 20 years

The Environment Agency has 1 flood warning area and 1 alert area reaching into the town; warnings since the service began in 2006.

Now: no flood warnings or alerts for Tavistock (checked 3 November 2026, 00:25). Check for flooding on GOV.UK →
Warnings and alerts each year for areas in Tavistock
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)

Of the 1 warnings, 1 were for River Tavy from Mary Tavy to Lopwell. 2021 had the most warnings (1); 2012 the most alerts (15).

The most recent warning was on 28 October 2021.

Show the 2 warning and alert areas
AreaKindSince 2006Now
River Tavy from Mary Tavy to LopwellWarning area1None
Rivers Tavy and WalkhamAlert area72None

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 Tavistock are in radon Affected Areas, up to the Over 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).

SX4673: 10–30% of homes above the action levelSX4674: 10–30% of homes above the action levelSX4772: 10–30% of homes above the action levelSX4773: 10–30% of homes above the action levelSX4774: Over 30% of homes above the action levelSX4775: Over 30% of homes above the action levelSX4872: 10–30% of homes above the action levelSX4873: Over 30% of homes above the action levelSX4874: Over 30% of homes above the action levelSX4875: Over 30% of homes above the action levelSX4972: 10–30% of homes above the action levelSX4973: Over 30% of homes above the action levelSX4974: Over 30% of homes above the action levelSX4975: Over 30% of homes above the action level© OpenStreetMap contributors · BGS/UKHSA
10–30%Over 30%
Share of the town’s area in each band
10–30% of homes30%
Over 30% of homes70%

100% of Tavistock’s built-up area is in a radon Affected Area (1% of homes or more above the action level), and 100% in squares of 5% or more.

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 Tavistock

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

Horrabridge: Hazard risk DGunnislake and St Ann's Chapel: Hazard risk AYelverton: Hazard risk ABere Alston: Hazard risk APrincetown: Hazard risk AKelly Bray: Hazard risk ACallington: Hazard risk C−HorrabridgeGunnislake and St Ann's ChapelYelvertonBere AlstonPrincetownKelly BrayCallingtonTavistock
ABCD
TownPeopleHigh or mediumLowHazard
Tavistock12,6766.9%6.8%D
Horrabridge1,8757.2%6.3%D
Gunnislake and St Ann's Chapel3,5060%0%A
Yelverton1,8560%0%A
Bere Alston2,2590%0%A
Princetown1,4420%0%A
Kelly Bray1,1370%0%A
Callington4,6652.1%0.6%C−

Horrabridge, 3.2 miles south-east, has the most homes at risk around Tavistock (7.2% at high or medium).

Be ready

Get ready for what Tavistock 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.
  • Tavistock’s warning areas include River Tavy from Mary Tavy to Lopwell.
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 Tavistock
  • 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 Tavistock

Does Tavistock flood?

The last flood the Environment Agency recorded inside the town was in February 2016. 6.9% 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 3.9% of homes are at high or medium risk from surface water, when heavy rain overwhelms the drains. Tavistock grades D for hazard risk against UK towns.

Which parts of Tavistock are at risk of flooding?

From rivers and the sea, the places the Environment Agency warns directly: River Tavy from Mary Tavy to Lopwell. 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 Tavistock last flood?

The recorded flood outlines inside the town run from 1979 to 2016 (3 years); the largest was in 1979. Flood warnings have been issued for parts of the town since 2006, most recently on 28 October 2021.

Is Tavistock at risk of surface water flooding?

About 2.2% of homes are at high risk and 1.6% at medium risk from surface water, against 6.9% 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 Tavistock?

100% of the town’s built-up area is in a radon Affected Area on the BGS/UKHSA atlas, and 100% 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 Tavistock now?

No flood warning or alert was in force near Tavistock at 3 November 2026, 00:25. 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.