Photo: Chris Whippet · CC BY-SA 2.0Surface water, more than the river, is Newham’s flood risk: 5% 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. Newham grades B for hazard risk: #7 of 33 in London.
What stands out about Newham’s hazards
From the Environment Agency’s maps and records and the BGS radon atlas, below.
What Newham faces
Each hazard against its own yardstick; meters run from low to high on that yardstick.
Rivers and the sea
Surface water
Past floods
Flood warnings
Radon
Newham grades B 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 Newham
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 Roding, the River Lee and the River Thames. Surface-water risk is spread across the borough, in dips, underpasses and along small streams, which is why more homes are exposed to it.
Under 0.1% of Newham’s homes are at high or medium risk from rivers or the sea
The Environment Agency’s national map, allowing for defences. A further 11% 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; Newham has more than 36% of towns.
| # | Town | People | High or med. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Southwark London | 307,076 | 0% | |
| 2 | Newham London | 351,065 | under 0.1% | |
| 3 | Havering London | 259,401 | 0.1% | |
| 4 | Stoke-on-Trent Staffordshire | 260,560 | 0.1% | |
| … | ||||
| 35 | Nottingham Nottinghamshire | 299,786 | 3.6% | |
| 36 | Kingston upon Hull East Riding of Yorkshire | 270,816 | 6.3% | |
UK towns of 246,000 to 491,000 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.
5% of Newham’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.
About 1.9% of homes are at high risk of surface-water flooding (a 1 in 30 chance or more each year) and 3.1% at medium risk: roughly 5,860 households. A further 15% face a low risk from surface water. That is more than 69% of UK towns.
Our estimate: every address in the borough (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.
Newham has flooded in 7 recorded years since 1928, most of all in 1947
Every flood the Environment Agency has mapped inside Newham’s built-up area, newest first. The record is fullest for big river floods; small and surface-water floods are often missing.
- 2021January 2021: The sea came inUnder 1 hectare inside today’s built-up area
- 2020May 2020: The sea came inUnder 1 hectare inside today’s built-up area
- 1987January 1987: River flooding recorded9 hectares inside today’s built-up area
- 1974January 1974: River flooding recorded2 hectares inside today’s built-up area
- 1953January 1953: River flooding recorded104 hectares inside today’s built-up area
- 1947January and March 1947: River flooding recorded172 hectares inside today’s built-up area
Show all 7
- 1928January 1928: The sea came in3 hectares inside today’s built-up area
Floodwater covered 172 hectares of what is now Newham in 1947, the largest flood the record holds here (January and March).
8,649 of Newham’s households today live inside the outline of a recorded flood.
Since 1947, the largest recorded flood inside the borough covered 104 hectares.
No flood warning or alert is in force for Newham · 2 warnings in 20 years
The Environment Agency has 10 flood warning areas and 7 alert areas reaching into the borough; warnings since the service began in 2006.
The warning area covering the most of Newham, Tidal Thames from Beckton Sewage Works to the River Lee, has not had a flood warning since 2006. Of the 2 warnings, 1 were for River Roding in Barking and 1 for River Roding in Redbridge.
2019 had the most warnings (2); 2024 the most alerts (27). The most recent warning was on 21 December 2019.
Show the 17 warning and alert areas
| Area | Kind | Since 2006 | Now |
|---|---|---|---|
| River Roding in Redbridge | Warning area | 1 | None |
| River Roding in Barking | Warning area | 1 | None |
| Lower River Lee at Hackney and Walthamstow | Warning area | 0 | None |
| Tidal Thames at Beckton Sewage Works | Warning area | 0 | None |
| Lower River Lee at Stratford | Warning area | 0 | None |
| Lower River Lee from West Ham and Canning Town | Warning area | 0 | None |
| Tidal Thames from Beckton Sewage Works to the River Lee | Warning area | 0 | None |
| Tidal Thames at the Isle of Dogs north of South Dock | Warning area | 0 | None |
| Tidal Thames at Beckton | Warning area | 0 | None |
| Tidal Thames at Mill Meads and East Plaistow | Warning area | 0 | None |
| Tidal Thames riverside from the Thames Barrier to Putney Bridge | Alert area | 94 | None |
| Tidal Thames riverside from Dartford Creek and The Mardyke to the Thames Barrier | Alert area | 26 | None |
| Lower River Lee from Hoddesdon to Canning Town | Alert area | 17 | None |
| Lower River Roding | Alert area | 14 | None |
| Tidal Thames in the boroughs of Tower Hamlets, City of London, City of Westminster, Ken and Chelsea | Alert area | 2 | None |
| Tidal Thames in the boroughs of Havering, Barking and Dagenham, and Newham | Alert area | 2 | None |
| Tidal Thames in the boroughs of Bexley and Greenwich | Alert area | 2 | None |
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.
Parts of Newham 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).
29% of Newham’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.
Flood risk in the places around Newham
Share of homes at high or medium and at low risk from rivers and the sea. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | High or medium | Low | Hazard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newham | 351,065 | under 0.1% | 11% | B |
| Tower Hamlets | 311,072 | 0.5% | under 0.1% | C+ |
| Redbridge | 309,509 | 1.4% | 2.3% | C |
| Greenwich | 288,117 | 2% | 0.9% | C− |
| Barking and Dagenham | 218,236 | 1% | 9% | C |
| Waltham Forest | 278,129 | 1.6% | 3% | C− |
| Hackney | 258,464 | 0.8% | 0.3% | C |
| City of London | 7,820 | 0% | 0% | A |
Greenwich, 4.1 miles south, has the most homes at risk around Newham (2% at high or medium). City of London has none.
Get ready for what Newham faces
Free warnings, what to do in a cloudburst, and what to check before you move.
- Sign up free for Environment Agency flood warnings by text, call or email.
- Floodline: 0345 988 1188, 24 hours.
- Newham’s warning areas include Tidal Thames from Beckton Sewage Works to the River Lee and Tidal Thames at Beckton.
- 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 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.
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.
Questions about flooding and hazards in Newham
Does Newham flood?
The last flood the Environment Agency recorded inside the borough was in January 2021. 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% of homes are at high or medium risk from surface water, when heavy rain overwhelms the drains. Newham grades B for hazard risk against UK towns.
Which parts of Newham are at risk of flooding?
From rivers and the sea, the places the Environment Agency warns directly: River Roding in Barking, River Roding in Redbridge, Tidal Thames from Beckton Sewage Works to the River Lee and Tidal Thames at Beckton. Surface water can collect in low spots anywhere in the borough. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s long-term flood risk service.
When did Newham last flood?
The recorded flood outlines inside the borough run from 1928 to 2021 (7 years); the largest was in 1947. Flood warnings have been issued for parts of the borough since 2006, most recently on 21 December 2019.
Is Newham at risk of surface water flooding?
About 1.9% of homes are at high risk and 3.1% 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 Newham?
29% of the borough’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 Newham now?
No flood warning or alert was in force near Newham at 5 November 2026, 15:51. 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 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.