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Wye CrownPhoto: Original uploader was O1ive at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0
CHazard risk Grade
Flood & hazards in Wye · Environment Agency

Surface water, more than the river, is Wye’s flood risk: 2.1% of homes, against 1.1% 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 Wye at C.

0flood warnings since 200691%in a radon Affected Area
In brief

What stands out about Wye’s hazards

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

Rain, more than the river2.1% of homes sit where heavy rain can flood the streets, against 1.1% at risk from rivers and the sea.No flood warning since 2006The Environment Agency has 1 warning area in Wye and hasn’t had to issue a flood warning for it.
By hazard

What Wye faces

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

Rivers and the sea

1.1%of homes at high or medium risk
More than the typical UK town · more than 70% of towns
12 homes by the EA’s own count

Surface water

2.1%of homes at high or medium risk
More than 26% of UK towns
Rivers and sea: 1.1%

Past floods

2years with a recorded flood
Last recorded: February 2001
2 households inside past outlines

The Great Stour

1.03 mhighest in winter 2025–26 at Wye
27th-highest of 36 winters
Record 1.72 m, November 2000

Flood warnings

0flood warnings since 2006
29 flood alerts for the wider area
Never warned

Radon

91%of the village in a radon Affected Area
Highest band here: 1–3% of homes
No square 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

Wye grades C for hazard risk

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

Homes at high or medium flood risk (1.1%)Fewer than 30% 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 Wye

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: 2000Recorded flood: 2001© OpenStreetMap contributors · EA NaFRA2
HighMediumLowrivers & seaHighMediumLowsurface waterWye’s built-up area

The river and sea risk follows the Great Stour and the Stour. Surface-water risk is spread across the village, in dips, underpasses and along small streams, which is why more homes are exposed to it.

Rivers and the sea

1.1% of Wye’s homes are at high or medium risk from rivers or the sea

The Environment Agency’s national map, allowing for defences. A further 0.5% are at low risk.

High risk1%of homes · 1 in 30 a year or more11 homes, EA count
Medium risk0.1%of homes · 1 in 30 to 1 in 1001 homes, EA count
Low risk0.5%of homes · 1 in 100 to 1 in 1,0007 homes, EA count
Where Wye sits among 3,735 UK towns
35%None
23%Under 0.5%
9%0.5–1%
11%1–2%Wye
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; Wye has more than 70% of towns.

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

Heavy rain puts about 1.9 times as many Wye homes at risk as rivers and the sea do

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 water2.1%
Rivers and the sea1.1%
0%7%14% of homes

About 1.1% of homes are at high risk of surface-water flooding (a 1 in 30 chance or more each year) and 1% at medium risk: roughly 20 households. A further 6.1% face a low risk from surface water. That is more than 26% of UK towns.

~20
households at high or medium risk
6.1%
of homes at low risk
26%
of UK towns have a smaller share
1,436
addresses read on the map

Our estimate: every address in the village (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

Wye has flooded in 2 recorded years since 2000

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

  1. 2001February 2001: River flooding recorded1 hectare inside today’s built-up area
  2. 2000November 2000: River flooding recorded1 hectare inside today’s built-up area

2 of Wye’s households today live inside the outline of a recorded flood.

River levels

The Great Stour at Wye: highest 1.72 m, in November 2000

The highest level each winter (October to September) at the Environment Agency’s Wye gauge, since 1990. The river normally runs between 0.11 m and 1.00 m here.

Highest level each winter, metres
Winter 1990–91: highest 1.04 m · 3 days above the normal rangeWinter 1991–92: highest 0.97 m · 0 days above the normal rangeWinter 1992–93: highest 1.07 m · 2 days above the normal rangeWinter 1993–94: highest 1.60 m on 30 December 1993 · 10 days above the normal rangeWinter 1994–95: highest 1.26 m · 9 days above the normal rangeWinter 1995–96: highest 1.05 m · 1 days above the normal rangeWinter 1996–97: highest 0.82 m · 0 days above the normal rangeWinter 1997–98: highest 1.45 m on 19 December 1997 · 7 days above the normal rangeWinter 1998–99: highest 1.06 m · 1 days above the normal rangeWinter 1999–00: highest 1.31 m · 10 days above the normal rangeWinter 2000–01: highest 1.80 m on 7 November 2000 · 51 days above the normal rangeWinter 2001–02: highest 1.09 m · 3 days above the normal rangeWinter 2002–03: highest 1.65 m on 30 December 2002 · 7 days above the normal rangeWinter 2003–04: highest 1.29 m · 6 days above the normal rangeWinter 2004–05: highest 0.84 m · 0 days above the normal rangeWinter 2005–06: highest 1.09 m · 3 days above the normal rangeWinter 2006–07: highest 1.14 m · 8 days above the normal rangeWinter 2007–08: highest 1.40 m · 4 days above the normal rangeWinter 2008–09: highest 1.30 m · 5 days above the normal rangeWinter 2009–10: highest 1.35 m · 10 days above the normal rangeWinter 2010–11: highest 1.00 m · 0 days above the normal rangeWinter 2011–12: highest 0.75 m · 0 days above the normal rangeWinter 2012–13: highest 1.17 m · 4 days above the normal rangeWinter 2013–14: highest 1.40 m on 1 February 2014 · 23 days above the normal rangeWinter 2014–15: highest 1.21 m · 5 days above the normal rangeWinter 2015–16: highest 1.23 m · 4 days above the normal rangeWinter 2016–17: highest 0.78 m · 0 days above the normal rangeWinter 2017–18: highest 1.36 m · 2 days above the normal rangeWinter 2018–19: highest 0.79 m · 0 days above the normal rangeWinter 2019–20: highest 1.29 m · 9 days above the normal rangeWinter 2020–21: highest 1.14 m · 10 days above the normal rangeWinter 2021–22: highest 0.83 m · 0 days above the normal rangeWinter 2022–23: highest 1.11 m · 3 days above the normal rangeWinter 2023–24: highest 1.19 m · 5 days above the normal rangeWinter 2024–25: highest 0.98 m · 0 days above the normal rangeWinter 2025–26: highest 1.03 m · 1 days above the normal range’00–01’02–03’93–94Record 1.72 m, 2000Top of normal range
1990–912025–26
The highest days on record
  • 7 November 20001.80 m
  • 12 October 20001.67 m
  • 30 December 20021.65 m
  • 8 February 20011.62 m
  • 30 December 19931.60 m
  • 30 October 20001.52 m

The Great Stour has topped its normal range on 206 days since 1990, most in the winters of 2000–01 and 2013–14. By its highest day, the winter of 2025–26 was the 27th-highest of the 36.

Environment Agency Hydrology API, Wye (station E4341), 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 Wye · 0 warnings in 20 years

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

Now: no flood warnings or alerts for Wye (checked 5 November 2026, 03:38). Check for flooding on GOV.UK →
Warnings and alerts each year for areas in Wye
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)

None of Wye’s 1 flood warning area has had a flood warning since the service began in 2006.

Show the 2 warning and alert areas
AreaKindSince 2006Now
Wye, Godmersham and ChilhamWarning area0None
Lower River StourAlert area29None

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 Wye are in radon Affected Areas, at the low end

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).

TR0446: Under 1% of homes above the action levelTR0447: 1–3% of homes above the action levelTR0546: 1–3% of homes above the action levelTR0547: 1–3% of homes above the action level© OpenStreetMap contributors · BGS/UKHSA
Under 1%1–3%
Share of the village’s area in each band
Under 1% of homes9%
1–3% of homes91%

91% of Wye’s built-up area is in a radon Affected Area (1% of homes or more above the action level).

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 Wye

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

Challock: Hazard risk AAshford: Hazard risk C+Brabourne Lees: Hazard risk AFinberry: Hazard risk B+Chartham: Hazard risk D−Aldington: Hazard risk ACharing: Hazard risk B−ChallockAshfordBrabourne LeesFinberryCharthamAldingtonCharingWye
ABCD
TownPeopleHigh or mediumLowHazard
Wye2,0641.1%0.5%C
Challock1,0890%0%A
Ashford82,1430.7%3%C+
Brabourne Lees1,4790%0%A
Finberry1,5710%0.2%B+
Chartham3,56910%0.5%D−
Aldington1,2800%0%A
Charing2,1700.3%0%B−

Chartham, 5.9 miles north-east, has the most homes at risk around Wye (10% at high or medium).

Be ready

Get ready for what Wye 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.
  • Wye’s warning areas include Wye, Godmersham and Chilham.
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 Wye
  • 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 Wye

Does Wye flood?

The last flood the Environment Agency recorded inside the village was in February 2001. 1.1% 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 2.1% of homes are at high or medium risk from surface water, when heavy rain overwhelms the drains. Wye grades C for hazard risk against UK towns.

Which parts of Wye are at risk of flooding?

From rivers and the sea, the places the Environment Agency warns directly: Wye, Godmersham and Chilham. Surface water can collect in low spots anywhere in the village. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s long-term flood risk service.

When did Wye last flood?

The recorded flood outlines inside the village run from 2000 to 2001 (2 years); the largest was in 2001.

Is Wye at risk of surface water flooding?

About 1.1% of homes are at high risk and 1% at medium risk from surface water, against 1.1% 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 Wye?

91% of the village’s built-up area is in a radon Affected Area on the BGS/UKHSA atlas. Most homes are below it; a three-month test is the only way to know.

Are there flood warnings in Wye now?

No flood warning or alert was in force near Wye at 5 November 2026, 03:38. 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.