Photo: Derek Voller · CC BY-SA 2.0In York, 4.3% of homes face high or medium risk from rivers or the sea and 5% from surface water
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. York grades D for hazard risk: #45 of 54 in North Yorkshire.
What stands out about York’s hazards
From the Environment Agency’s maps and records and the BGS radon atlas, below.
What York faces
Each hazard against its own yardstick; meters run from low to high on that yardstick.
Rivers and the sea
Surface water
Past floods
The River Foss
Flood warnings
Radon
York 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 York
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 Ouse, the Burdyke and the Holgate Beck. Surface-water risk is spread across the city, in dips, underpasses and along small streams, which is why more homes are exposed to it.
4.3% of York’s homes are at high or medium risk from rivers or the sea
The Environment Agency’s national map, allowing for defences. A further 4.4% 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; York has more than 88% of towns.
| # | Town | People | High or med. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oldham Greater Manchester | 110,722 | 0% | |
| 2 | Birkenhead Merseyside | 109,854 | 0% | |
| 3 | Kensington and Chelsea London | 143,348 | under 0.1% | |
| … | ||||
| 44 | Slough Berkshire | 166,868 | 2.9% | |
| 45 | Warrington Cheshire | 174,968 | 3.2% | |
| 46 | York North Yorkshire | 141,696 | 4.3% | |
| 47 | Kingston upon Thames London | 166,333 | 4.5% | |
| 48 | Gloucester Gloucestershire | 118,562 | 4.5% | |
| 49 | Oxford Oxfordshire | 170,799 | 4.7% | |
| 50 | Lincoln Lincolnshire | 104,553 | 6% | |
UK towns of 99,000 to 198,000 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 York’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 2% 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 3,030 households. A further 9.6% face a low risk from surface water. That is more than 69% of UK towns.
Our estimate: every address in the city (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.
York has flooded in 12 recorded years since 1947, most of all in 1978
Every flood the Environment Agency has mapped inside York’s built-up area, newest first. The record is fullest for big river floods; small and surface-water floods are often missing.
- 2021January 2021: River flooding recorded2 hectares inside today’s built-up area · January Flood Incident - Storm Christoph
- 2020February 2020: River flooding recorded18 hectares inside today’s built-up area · February Flood Incident - Storm Dennis, February Flood Incident - Storm Ciara
- 2019March 2019: River flooding recorded6 hectares inside today’s built-up area · March Flooding Yorkshire
- 2015December 2015: River flooding recorded106 hectares inside today’s built-up area
- 2012September 2012: River flooding recorded20 hectares inside today’s built-up area
- 2000October 2000: River flooding recorded73 hectares inside today’s built-up area
Show all 12
- 1995January 1995: River flooding recorded24 hectares inside today’s built-up area
- 1991February 1991: River flooding recorded25 hectares inside today’s built-up area
- 1982January 1982: River flooding recorded119 hectares inside today’s built-up area
- 1978December 1978: River flooding recorded186 hectares inside today’s built-up area
- 1968March 1968: River flooding recorded26 hectares inside today’s built-up area
- 1947March 1947: River flooding recorded127 hectares inside today’s built-up area
Floodwater covered 186 hectares of what is now York in 1978, the largest flood the record holds here (December).
4,170 of York’s households today live inside the outline of a recorded flood.
Since 1978, the largest recorded flood inside the city covered 119 hectares.
The River Foss at Huntington: highest 3.58 m, in December 2015
The highest level each winter (October to September) at the Environment Agency’s Huntington gauge (Huntington), since 1990. The river normally runs between 0.68 m and 2.20 m here.
- 27 December 20153.58 m
- 3 November 20002.91 m
- 26 September 20122.75 m
- 26 November 20122.74 m
- 21 January 20212.73 m
- 3 April 20182.64 m
The River Foss has topped its normal range on 87 days since 1990, most in the winters of 2023–24 and 2012–13. By its highest day, the winter of 2025–26 was the 24th-highest of the 36.
Environment Agency Hydrology API, Huntington (station F2470), 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.
No flood warning or alert is in force for York · 216 warnings in 20 years
The Environment Agency has 23 flood warning areas and 3 alert areas reaching into the city; warnings since the service began in 2006.
Of the 216 warnings, 90 were for River Ouse at York - riverside properties and 58 for River Ouse at York - St George's Field and Queen's Staith. 2012 had the most warnings (32); 2024 the most alerts (20).
The most recent warning was on 13 March 2026.
Show the 26 warning and alert areas
| Area | Kind | Since 2006 | Now |
|---|---|---|---|
| River Ouse at York - riverside properties | Warning area | 90 | None |
| River Ouse at York - St George's Field and Queen's Staith | Warning area | 58 | None |
| River Ouse at York - Skeldergate and Tower Street | Warning area | 17 | None |
| River Ouse at Fulford | Warning area | 15 | None |
| River Foss upstream of Yearsley Baths | Warning area | 10 | None |
| River Ouse at York - River Street | Warning area | 4 | None |
| Osbaldwick Beck - Osbaldwick | Warning area | 3 | None |
| River Foss downstream of Yearsley Baths | Warning area | 3 | None |
| River Foss upstream of Yearsley Baths to Strensall - riverside properties only | Warning area | 3 | None |
| Holgate Beck at York | Warning area | 2 | None |
| River Ouse at York - Clementhorpe, Ebor Street and South Bank | Warning area | 2 | None |
| River Ouse and Blue Beck at Rawcliffe | Warning area | 2 | None |
| River Ouse at York - Skeldergate | Warning area | 2 | None |
| River Ouse at York - Clifton | Warning area | 2 | None |
| River Ouse at York - Leeman Road | Warning area | 1 | None |
| River Ouse at York - Peckitt Street | Warning area | 1 | None |
| River Foss at Layerthorpe to Foss Islands Road, Stonebow and Piccadilly | Warning area | 1 | None |
| River Ouse at York - North Street | Warning area | 0 | None |
| River Ouse at York - City Centre | Warning area | 0 | None |
| River Ouse at York - Marygate | Warning area | 0 | None |
| Tang Hall Beck - Tang Hall | Warning area | 0 | None |
| South Beck at York | Warning area | 0 | None |
| River Foss - The Groves | Warning area | 0 | None |
| Upper River Ouse | Alert area | 168 | None |
| River Foss | Alert area | 25 | None |
| Osbaldwick Beck and Tanghall Beck | Alert area | 12 | 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.
York 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).
Every 1 km square over York 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.
Flood risk in the places around York
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| York | 141,696 | 4.3% | 4.4% | D |
| Heslington | 1,787 | 0% | 0% | A |
| Osbaldwick | 2,313 | 3.7% | 2.1% | D |
| Huntington | 12,420 | 1.4% | 2.3% | C |
| Bishopthorpe | 3,333 | 14% | 14% | D− |
| Upper Poppleton | 3,520 | 0.5% | 1.6% | C+ |
| Skelton (York) | 1,380 | 0% | 0% | A |
| Copmanthorpe | 3,671 | 0% | 0% | A |
Bishopthorpe, 2.7 miles south, has the most homes at risk around York (14% at high or medium). Heslington, Skelton (York) and Copmanthorpe have none.
Get ready for what York 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.
- York’s warning areas include River Foss at Layerthorpe to Foss Islands Road, Stonebow and Piccadilly and River Ouse at York - Clifton.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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 York
Does York flood?
The last flood the Environment Agency recorded inside the city was in January 2021. 4.3% 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. York grades D for hazard risk against UK towns.
Which parts of York are at risk of flooding?
From rivers and the sea, the places the Environment Agency warns directly: River Ouse at York - riverside properties, River Ouse at York - St George's Field and Queen's Staith, River Ouse at York - Skeldergate and Tower Street and River Ouse at Fulford. Surface water can collect in low spots anywhere in the city. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s long-term flood risk service.
When did York last flood?
The recorded flood outlines inside the city run from 1947 to 2021 (12 years); the largest was in 1978. Flood warnings have been issued for parts of the city since 2006, most recently on 13 March 2026.
Is York at risk of surface water flooding?
About 2% of homes are at high risk and 3.1% at medium risk from surface water, against 4.3% 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 York?
Not by the atlas: every 1 km square over York 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 York now?
No flood warning or alert was in force near York at 8 November 2026, 04:50. 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.