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Flood & hazards in Bootle · Environment Agency

Rivers and the sea put none of Bootle’s homes at high or medium risk; surface water puts 30% at risk

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 Bootle at A: #1 of 25 in Merseyside.

0warnings in force 0%at low risk

In brief

What stands out about Bootle’s hazards

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

Rain, not the river30% of homes sit where heavy rain can flood the streets; none are at risk from rivers or the sea.Low radonEvery 1 km square over Bootle is in the lowest radon band: under 1% of homes above the action level.

By hazard

What Bootle faces

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

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

Bootle grades A for hazard risk

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

Homes at high or medium flood risk (0%)Fewer than 86% 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 Bootle

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.

HighMediumLowrivers & seaHighMediumLowsurface waterBootle’s built-up area

No home in Bootle is in the high or medium band for rivers or the sea. 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

0% of Bootle’s homes are at high or medium risk from rivers or the sea

The Environment Agency’s national map, allowing for defences. None are in the low-risk band.

High risk0%of homes · 1 in 30 a year or more0 homes, EA count

Medium risk0%of homes · 1 in 30 to 1 in 1000 homes, EA count

Low risk0%of homes · 1 in 100 to 1 in 1,0000 homes, EA count

Where Bootle sits among 3,735 UK towns

35%NoneBootle

23%Under 0.5%

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.

Towns its size: 3rd of 125 from the fewest homes at risk

#	Town	People	High or med.
1	Dudley West Midlands	64,277	0%
2	Smethwick West Midlands	56,343	0%
3	Bootle Merseyside	53,722	0%
4	Bloxwich West Midlands	51,891	0%
5	Hinckley Leicestershire	50,729	0%
…
124	Neath West Glamorgan	40,738	7.2%
125	West Molesey Surrey	47,144	7.2%

UK towns of 38,000 to 75,000 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

30% of Bootle’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 water30%

Rivers and the sea0%

0%21%42% of homes

About 24% of homes are at high risk of surface-water flooding (a 1 in 30 chance or more each year) and 6.1% at medium risk: roughly 7,450 households. A further 11% face a low risk from surface water. That is more than 99% of UK towns.

~7,450

households at high or medium risk

11%

of homes at low risk

99%

of UK towns have a smaller share

30,886

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 warnings

No flood warning or alert is in force for Bootle · 0 warnings in 20 years

The Environment Agency has 0 flood warning areas and 3 alert areas reaching into the town; warnings since the service began in 2006.

Now: no flood warnings or alerts for Bootle (checked 3 November 2026, 08:19). Check for flooding on GOV.UK →

Warnings and alerts each year for areas in Bootle

Flood warning (flooding expected)Flood alert (flooding possible)

Show the 3 warning and alert areas

Area	Kind	Since 2006	Now
River Alt, Formby to Huyton	Alert area	64	None
Mersey Estuary from Liverpool and Wirral to Widnes	Alert area	49	None
Wirral catchment with Heswall, Ellesmere Port, Bebington, Hoylake and Wallasey	Alert area	21	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.

Radon

Bootle is in the lowest radon 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).

Under 1%

Share of the town’s area in each band

Under 1% of homes100%

Every 1 km square over Bootle is in the lowest band: fewer than 1 in 100 homes are expected to be above the action level.

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

Neighbours

Flood risk in the places around Bootle

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

LitherlandCrosbyAintreeMaghullKirkbyLydiateLiverpoolBootle

ABCD

Town	People	High or medium	Low	Hazard
Bootle	53,722	0%	0%	A
Litherland	18,752	0%	0%	A
Crosby	50,218	0%	0%	A
Aintree	6,212	0%	0%	A
Maghull	20,367	1.9%	3.2%	C⁻
Kirkby	45,559	under 0.1%	0.3%	B
Lydiate	6,516	0%	under 0.1%	B⁺
Liverpool	506,564	0.6%	0.6%	C⁺

Maghull, 3.5 miles north-east, has the most homes at risk around Bootle (1.9% at high or medium).

Be ready

Get ready for what Bootle 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.

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.

When the river rises

Never walk or drive through floodwater: 30 cm of moving water can float a car.
Move valuables, papers and medicines upstairs.
Turn off gas, electricity and water if you’re told to.

Before you buy or rent in Bootle

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.

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.
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 Bootle

Does Bootle flood?

0% 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 30% of homes are at high or medium risk from surface water, when heavy rain overwhelms the drains. Bootle grades A for hazard risk against UK towns.

Is Bootle at risk of surface water flooding?

About 24% of homes are at high risk and 6.1% at medium risk from surface water, against 0% 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 Bootle?

Not by the atlas: every 1 km square over Bootle is in the lowest band, where fewer than 1 in 100 homes are expected to be above the action level.

Are there flood warnings in Bootle now?

No flood warning or alert was in force near Bootle at 3 November 2026, 08:19. 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 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.