England Has 1.2 Million Buildings at Risk of Flooding With No Defenses
In the first two months of 2026, several regions across the UK had already experienced the highest rainfall levels in more than a century.
Photographer: Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images
A new study has found that 1.2 million buildings at risk of flooding in England currently aren’t included in any of the country’s flood defenses.
The research, provided by mapping service Ordnance Survey and Snowflake, an AI data cloud company, shows that two-thirds of the buildings identified are in some of England’s most economically vulnerable corners. Most of the properties are homes, and are at risk due to surface-water flooding rather than from rising rivers or sea levels, according to the report published on Wednesday.