Southampton Flood Risk
Southampton has a High flood risk from rivers and the sea , with 1.7% of homes in a Medium or High band. The nearest gauge is 2.7 km away.
Southampton has 249,542 residents and 110,146 homes. Ranked 1488 of 7,114 in England for rivers and sea flood risk.
What Is The River Level Near Southampton Right Now?
Read from the Environment Agency flood-monitoring feed at 20 Sept, 14:34 UTC. The highest level on record here is 2.194 m , reached on 1 April 2010.
What Does Southampton's Flood Risk Classification Mean?
2.7% of postcodes in Southampton 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 High , with 1.7% 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.
Which Postcode Districts Cover Southampton?
Each district below is one postcode district that falls inside Southampton. 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 district | Postcodes here | Rivers and sea band | Surface water addresses |
|---|---|---|---|
| SO16 | 1,320 | Low | 2,073 |
| SO19 | 1,180 | Low | 1,492 |
| SO15 | 1,091 | Low | 1,884 |
| SO18 | 815 | Low | 687 |
| SO14 | 773 | High | 1,713 |
| SO17 | 432 | High | 1,012 |
| SO30 | 1 | Not mapped — no rivers-and-sea band covers this district | not published for this district |
"Not mapped" is not "no risk". It means no rivers-and-sea band covers that district in the source — surface water can still flood it, and both Camden and Islington flooded from surface water in July 2021 while carrying no mapped rivers-and-sea band.
How Does Flood Risk Affect Insurance And Buying In Southampton?
A High flood risk band can affect the price, the excess and the availability of home insurance, and it is worth checking before you buy. Flood cover is normally part of standard home insurance, and insurers set their own prices.
How insurers price flood risk, what Flood Re covers, and what to do if a standard insurer declines.
The eight statutory conditions, with an eligibility checker that gives a real verdict.
Barriers, airbricks, pumps and non-return valves, ranked by what they protect against.
This site is not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority and gives no advice. It explains the market and links to regulated intermediaries.
What Else Is Near Southampton?
Other places on the River Itchen, nearest to Southampton first.