Photo: Keith Rattenbury · CC BY-SA 2.0In Elmswell, heavy rain puts more homes at risk than rivers or the sea: 9.9%, against under 0.1%
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. For hazard risk, Elmswell grades B: #13 of 34 in Suffolk.
What stands out about Elmswell’s hazards
From the Environment Agency’s maps and records and the BGS radon atlas, below.
What Elmswell faces
Each hazard against its own yardstick; meters run from low to high on that yardstick.
Rivers and the sea
Surface water
Radon
Elmswell 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 Elmswell
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 town’s rivers. Surface-water risk is spread across the town, in dips, underpasses and along small streams, which is why more homes are exposed to it.
Under 0.1% of Elmswell’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.
Share of each UK town’s homes at high or medium risk from rivers and the sea. 35% of UK towns have none; Elmswell has more than 36% of towns.
| # | Town | People | High or med. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Finningley South Yorkshire | 5,919 | 0% | |
| 2 | Leiston Suffolk | 5,919 | 0% | |
| 3 | West Hallam Derbyshire | 5,912 | 0% | |
| … | ||||
| 238 | Shipston-on-Stour Warwickshire | 5,852 | under 0.1% | |
| 239 | Winterton Lincolnshire | 4,764 | under 0.1% | |
| 240 | Elmswell Suffolk | 4,446 | under 0.1% | |
| 241 | Ferndale Mid Glamorgan | 4,301 | under 0.1% | |
| 242 | Brookmans Park Hertfordshire | 4,033 | under 0.1% | |
| … | ||||
| 694 | Chapel St Leonards Lincolnshire | 3,435 | 66% | |
| 695 | Gilberdyke East Riding of Yorkshire | 3,028 | 70% | |
UK towns of 3,000 to 6,000 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.
9.9% of Elmswell’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 5.5% of homes are at high risk of surface-water flooding (a 1 in 30 chance or more each year) and 4.4% at medium risk: roughly 200 households. A further 13% face a low risk from surface water. That is more than 91% of UK towns.
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.
No flood warning or alert is in force for Elmswell
The Environment Agency has no flood warning or alert area that reaches into Elmswell’s built-up area.
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.
Elmswell 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 Elmswell 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 Elmswell
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elmswell | 4,446 | under 0.1% | 0% | B |
| Woolpit | 1,838 | 0% | 0% | A |
| Haughley | 1,316 | 0% | 0% | A |
| Walsham le Willows | 1,258 | 1.1% | 0.9% | C |
| Thurston | 3,009 | 0.1% | 0% | B |
| Bacton and Cotton | 1,567 | 0.2% | 0.3% | B− |
| Stowmarket | 21,537 | 0.2% | 2.1% | B− |
| Stowupland | 2,019 | 0% | 0% | A |
Walsham le Willows, 4.5 miles north, has the most homes at risk around Elmswell (1.1% at high or medium). Woolpit, Haughley and Stowupland have none.
Get ready for what Elmswell 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.
- 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.
- 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 Elmswell
Does Elmswell flood?
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 9.9% of homes are at high or medium risk from surface water, when heavy rain overwhelms the drains. Elmswell grades B for hazard risk against UK towns.
Is Elmswell at risk of surface water flooding?
About 5.5% of homes are at high risk and 4.4% 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 Elmswell?
Not by the atlas: every 1 km square over Elmswell 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 Elmswell now?
No flood warning or alert was in force near Elmswell at 4 November 2026, 13:35. 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 · 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.