Oxford Flood Risk

Oxford has a Low flood risk from rivers and the sea , with 5% of homes in a Medium or High band. The nearest gauge is 0.7 km away.

Oxford has 169,692 residents and 63,841 homes. Ranked 785 of 7,114 in England for rivers and sea flood risk.

What Is The River Level Near Oxford Right Now?

0.706 m within its typical range
Gauge
Kings Mill, Oxford
Distance
0.7 km from the centre of Oxford
Typical range
1.631 m to 2.4 m
Reading taken
20 Sept, 14:00 UTC

Read from the Environment Agency flood-monitoring feed at 20 Sept, 14:34 UTC. The highest level on record here is 2.785 m , reached on 27 November 2024.

All gauges on this river

When Has Oxford Flooded Before?

The Environment Agency holds 54 recorded flood outlines covering Oxford, the most recent dated 20 January 2008.

Absence of a record is not evidence that a place has never flooded — the Environment Agency states that a lack of coverage does not mean an area has never flooded.

What Does Oxford's Flood Risk Classification Mean?

4.5% of postcodes in Oxford sit in Flood Zone 3, the planning band for land with a 1% or greater annual chance of river flooding or 0.5% or greater of sea flooding — and the map that draws it deliberately ignores flood defences.

The flood risk band for rivers and the sea is Low , with 5% of homes in a Medium or High band. Unlike the Flood Zone, the band counts the defences that are actually in place, which is why the two can describe the same street differently and both be right.

Flood Zone versus flood risk band: the full comparison

Which Postcode Districts Cover Oxford?

Each district below is one postcode district that falls inside Oxford. The band is the one shared by most of that district's postcodes, so it describes the district rather than a single street — enter a full postcode in the checker for one address. A district can cover more than one town, and the district pages linked from the checker are keyed to the town that holds most of its postcodes.

Postcode districts covering Oxford, with the flood risk band shared by most of each district's postcodes. A district can span more than one local area, so its band is a summary and not a property-level answer.
Postcode district Postcodes here Rivers and sea band Surface water addresses
OX4 1,272 High 3,950
OX3 872 High 3,269
OX2 828 High 1,477
OX1 445 High 439

What Else Is Near Oxford?

Other places on the River Cherwell, nearest to Oxford first.