Photo: Michael Garlick · CC BY-SA 2.0Surface water, more than the river, is Stowmarket’s flood risk: 11% of homes, against 0.2% 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. Stowmarket’s Hazard risk Grade is B−: #22 of 34 in Suffolk.
What stands out about Stowmarket’s hazards
From the Environment Agency’s maps and records and the BGS radon atlas, below.
What Stowmarket faces
Each hazard against its own yardstick; meters run from low to high on that yardstick.
Rivers and the sea
Surface water
The River Gipping
Flood warnings
Radon
Stowmarket 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 Stowmarket
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 Rattlesden River and the Gipping. Surface-water risk is spread across the town, in dips, underpasses and along small streams, which is why more homes are exposed to it.
0.2% of Stowmarket’s homes are at high or medium risk from rivers or the sea
The Environment Agency’s national map, allowing for defences. A further 2.1% 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; Stowmarket has more than 46% of towns.
| # | Town | People | High or med. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Northfleet Kent | 29,892 | 0% | |
| 2 | Jarrow Tyne and Wear | 29,467 | 0% | |
| 3 | Cramlington Northumberland | 28,846 | 0% | |
| … | ||||
| 105 | Broadstairs Kent | 25,780 | 0.2% | |
| 106 | Formby Merseyside | 22,892 | 0.2% | |
| 107 | Stowmarket Suffolk | 21,537 | 0.2% | |
| 108 | Bradley Stoke Gloucestershire | 25,194 | 0.2% | |
| 109 | Sudbury Suffolk | 23,922 | 0.2% | |
| … | ||||
| 301 | Wisbech Cambridgeshire | 26,800 | 43% | |
| 302 | Goole East Riding of Yorkshire | 20,173 | 94% | |
UK towns of 15,000 to 30,000 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.
Heavy rain puts about 71.8 times as many Stowmarket 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.
About 7.8% of homes are at high risk of surface-water flooding (a 1 in 30 chance or more each year) and 3% at medium risk: roughly 1,010 households. A further 7% face a low risk from surface water. That is more than 93% 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.
The River Gipping at Stowmarket: highest 1.75 m, in October 2023
The highest level each winter (October to September) at the Environment Agency’s Stowmarket gauge (Combs Ford), since 1990. The river normally runs between 0.13 m and 0.97 m here.
- 30 October 20001.55 m
- 18 February 20241.50 m
- 3 May 20121.49 m
- 4 February 20011.48 m
- 12 October 19931.46 m
- 10 February 20091.44 m
The River Gipping has topped its normal range on 104 days since 1990, most in the winters of 2000–01 and 2023–24. By its highest day, the winter of 2025–26 was the 19th-highest of the 35.
Environment Agency Hydrology API, Stowmarket (station E23277), 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 Stowmarket · 21 warnings in 20 years
The Environment Agency has 2 flood warning areas and 1 alert area reaching into the town; warnings since the service began in 2006.
Of the 21 warnings, 15 were for The Rattlesden River from Rattlesden to Combs Ford in Stowmarket and 6 for The River Gipping from the A14 at Stowmarket to upstream of Needham Market. 2012 had the most warnings (4); 2007 the most alerts (10).
The most recent warning was on 18 February 2024.
Show the 3 warning and alert areas
| Area | Kind | Since 2006 | Now |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Rattlesden River from Rattlesden to Combs Ford in Stowmarket | Warning area | 15 | None |
| The River Gipping from the A14 at Stowmarket to upstream of Needham Market | Warning area | 6 | None |
| The Rattlesden River and River Gipping, through and including Stowmarket and Needham Market | Alert area | 83 | 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.
Stowmarket 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 Stowmarket 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 Stowmarket
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stowmarket | 21,537 | 0.2% | 2.1% | B− |
| Stowupland | 2,019 | 0% | 0% | A |
| Haughley | 1,316 | 0% | 0% | A |
| Needham Market | 5,055 | 5.6% | 4.5% | D |
| Great Bricett | 1,518 | 0% | 0% | A |
| Elmswell | 4,446 | under 0.1% | 0% | B |
| Woolpit | 1,838 | 0% | 0% | A |
| Bacton and Cotton | 1,567 | 0.2% | 0.3% | B− |
Needham Market, 3.2 miles south-east, has the most homes at risk around Stowmarket (5.6% at high or medium).
Get ready for what Stowmarket 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.
- Stowmarket’s warning areas include The River Gipping from the A14 at Stowmarket to upstream of Needham Market and The Rattlesden River from Rattlesden to Combs Ford in Stowmarket.
- 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 Stowmarket
Does Stowmarket flood?
0.2% 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 11% of homes are at high or medium risk from surface water, when heavy rain overwhelms the drains. Stowmarket grades B− for hazard risk against UK towns.
Which parts of Stowmarket are at risk of flooding?
From rivers and the sea, the places the Environment Agency warns directly: The Rattlesden River from Rattlesden to Combs Ford in Stowmarket and The River Gipping from the A14 at Stowmarket to upstream of Needham Market. Surface water can collect in low spots anywhere in the town. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s long-term flood risk service.
Is Stowmarket at risk of surface water flooding?
About 7.8% of homes are at high risk and 3% at medium risk from surface water, against 0.2% 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 Stowmarket?
Not by the atlas: every 1 km square over Stowmarket 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 Stowmarket now?
No flood warning or alert was in force near Stowmarket at 9 November 2026, 13:53. 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 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.