Photo: Malc McDonald · CC BY-SA 2.0Rivers or the sea put 10% of Y Bala’s homes at high or medium flood risk, more than in 95% of UK towns
On Natural Resources Wales’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 (1 in 200 for the sea in Wales). Y Bala grades D− for hazard risk.
What stands out about Y Bala’s hazards
From Natural Resources Wales’s maps and records and the BGS radon atlas, below.
What Y Bala faces
Each hazard against its own yardstick; meters run from low to high on that yardstick.
Rivers and the sea
Surface water
Past floods
Radon
Y Bala grades D− for hazard risk
Flood risk from rivers and the sea, against all 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.
Where the water goes in Y Bala
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.
The river and sea risk follows the River Tryweryn, the Llyn Tegid and the River Dee. Surface-water risk is patchier: dips, underpasses and small streams.
10% of Y Bala’s homes are at high or medium risk from rivers or the sea
Natural Resources Wales’s national map, allowing for defences. A further 37% are at low risk.
Share of each UK town’s homes at high or medium risk from rivers and the sea. 35% of UK towns have none; Y Bala has more than 95% of towns.
Natural Resources Wales’s Flood Risk Assessment Wales map (May 2026) tested against every address in the village (ONS NSUL), weighted by Census 2021 households. Rivers and sea can overlap; the worse band counts.
Rivers and the sea, more than heavy rain, are Y Bala’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.
About 1.9% of homes are at high risk of surface-water flooding (a 1 in 30 chance or more each year) and 0.4% at medium risk: roughly 20 households. A further 0.4% face a low risk from surface water. That is more than 31% of UK towns.
Our estimate: every address in the village (ONS NSUL) read on Natural Resources Wales’s Flood Risk Assessment Wales map of surface water and small watercourses, 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.
Y Bala has flooded in 2 recorded years since 1960, most of all in 1960
Every flood Natural Resources Wales has mapped inside Y Bala’s built-up area, newest first. The record is fullest for big river floods; small and surface-water floods are often missing.
- 1964December 1964: River flooding recorded13 hectares inside today’s built-up area · Bala Flood
- 1960December 1960: River flooding recorded28 hectares inside today’s built-up area
Floodwater covered 28 hectares of what is now Y Bala in 1960, the largest flood the record holds here (December).
483 of Y Bala’s households today live inside the outline of a recorded flood.
Since 1960, the largest recorded flood inside the village covered 13 hectares.
Natural Resources Wales warns 2 areas in Y Bala
Natural Resources Wales issues flood alerts and warnings for Wales; the Environment Agency’s live service covers England only. Both run Floodline, 0345 988 1188.
Show the 3 warning and alert areas
| Area | Kind | River or sea |
|---|---|---|
| Upper Dee catchment | Alert area | River Dee |
| Llyn Tegid at Bala | Warning area | Llyn Tegid |
| River Tryweryn at Bala | Warning area | River Tryweryn |
Parts of Y Bala are in radon Affected Areas, up to the 5–10% 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).
100% of Y Bala’s built-up area is in a radon Affected Area (1% of homes or more above the action level), and 56% 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.
Get ready for what Y Bala faces
Free warnings, what to do in a cloudburst, and what to check before you move.
- Sign up free for Natural Resources Wales flood warnings by text, call or email.
- Floodline: 0345 988 1188, 24 hours.
- Y Bala’s warning areas include River Tryweryn at Bala and Llyn Tegid at Bala.
- 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.
- 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%.
- Check the address on Natural Resources Wales’s flood map: it shows rivers, the sea and surface water.
- 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.
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 Natural Resources Wales’s flood risk map before you buy or rent.
- Wales is measured slightly differently. NRW publishes no count of homes at risk, so each address in the village is tested against its map. Addresses include garages, chapels and shops, and NRW’s medium band for the sea runs to 1 in 200 (England’s stops at 1 in 100), so Welsh figures lean a little higher than English ones.
Questions about flooding and hazards in Y Bala
Does Y Bala flood?
The last flood Natural Resources Wales recorded inside the village was in December 1964. 10% of homes are at high or medium risk from rivers and the sea on Natural Resources Wales’s maps, which allow for flood defences. About 2.3% of homes are at high or medium risk from surface water, when heavy rain overwhelms the drains. Y Bala grades D− for hazard risk against UK towns.
Which parts of Y Bala are at risk of flooding?
From rivers and the sea, the places Natural Resources Wales warns directly: River Tryweryn at Bala and Llyn Tegid at Bala. Surface water can collect in low spots anywhere in the village. Check a specific address on NRW’s flood risk map.
When did Y Bala last flood?
The recorded flood outlines inside the village run from 1960 to 1964 (2 years); the largest was in 1960.
Is Y Bala at risk of surface water flooding?
About 1.9% of homes are at high risk and 0.4% at medium risk from surface water, against 10% 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 Y Bala?
100% of the village’s built-up area is in a radon Affected Area on the BGS/UKHSA atlas, and 56% 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.
Where can I find flood warnings for Y Bala?
Natural Resources Wales issues flood warnings and alerts for Wales on its flood warnings service, and runs Floodline (0345 988 1188) with the Environment Agency.
Contains Natural Resources Wales information © Natural Resources Body for Wales and database right. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and 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 · 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.