East Devon Flood Risk
In East Devon, 5,934 of 103,530 properties (5.7%) are in areas at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers and the sea — at least a 1 in 100 chance in any year — per Environment Agency data updated 6 July 2026; that ranks 20th of 296 local authorities in England by number.
By bandProperties in East Devon by flood-risk band
| Risk band | Chance of flooding each year | All properties | Homes |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | 3.3% (1 in 30) or greater chance in any year | 4,440 | 2,978 |
| Medium | between 1% and 3.3% (1 in 100 to 1 in 30) chance in any year | 1,494 | 1,081 |
| Low | between 0.1% and 1% (1 in 1,000 to 1 in 100) chance in any year | 2,746 | 2,098 |
| Very low | less than 0.1% (1 in 1,000) chance in any year | 437 | 334 |
4,059 of the high- or medium-risk properties are homes and 1,389 are non-residential. 801 postcodes in East Devon have at least one property at high or medium risk.
Postcode districtsFlood risk across East Devon
Counts are for the part of each district inside East Devon.
| District | Properties | High + medium | High | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EX8 | 23,001 | 2,544 | 2,186 | 11.1% |
| EX10 | 11,986 | 887 | 616 | 7.4% |
| EX12 | 7,211 | 583 | 293 | 8.1% |
| EX5 | 13,460 | 500 | 284 | 3.7% |
| EX13 | 10,366 | 426 | 330 | 4.1% |
| EX11 | 5,551 | 398 | 286 | 7.2% |
| EX9 | 5,139 | 222 | 154 | 4.3% |
| EX14 | 16,909 | 197 | 160 | 1.2% |
| EX24 | 3,187 | 71 | 56 | 2.2% |
| EX3 | 1,056 | 51 | 30 | 4.8% |
| DT7 | 1,667 | 26 | 23 | 1.6% |
| EX15 | 1,315 | 26 | 19 | 2.0% |
| TA20 | 26 | 2 | 2 | 7.7% |
| EX1 | 2,293 | 1 | 1 | 0.0% |
| EX4 | 339 | 0 | 0 | 0.0% |
| EX2 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0.0% |
Recorded floodsPast floods mapped in East Devon
The Environment Agency has mapped flood outlines on 49 dates in postcode districts that mostly lie in East Devon since 1960; the most recent started on 1 Nov 2023.
1960s 14 1970s 7 1980s 11 1990s 6 2000s 4 2010s 6 2020s 1
| Started | Place / name in the record | Source of flooding | Cause | Districts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Nov 2023 – 2 Nov 2023 | Storm Ciaran | Sea | Other | EX9 |
| 14 Feb 2014 | Seaton Tidal Flood | Sea | Overtopping of defences | EX12 |
| 5 Feb 2014 | Lympstone Tidal Flood | Sea | Overtopping of defences | EX8 |
| 4 Feb 2014 – 5 Feb 2014 | Exmouth Tidal Flood | Sea | Overtopping of defences | EX8 |
| 1 Jan 2014 | Clyst Honiton Flood | Main river | Channel capacity exceeded (no raised defences) | EX5 |
| 22 Nov 2012 – 24 Nov 2012 | Feniton Flood | Drainage | Local drainage/surface water | EX11 |
| 7 Jul 2012 | Axminster Flood 6 outlines | Main river, ordinary watercourse | Channel capacity exceeded (no raised defences) | EX10 EX13 EX8 |
| 30 Oct 2008 | Otter 59 outlines | Main river, ordinary watercourse | Channel capacity exceeded (no raised defences) | EX10 EX11 EX12 EX13 EX14 EX24 EX5 EX9 |
| 27 Oct 2004 | Lympstone Tidal Flood | Sea | Overtopping of defences | EX8 |
| 12 Nov 2002 – 15 Nov 2002 | — | Ordinary watercourse | Channel capacity exceeded (no raised defences) | EX9 |
| 30 Oct 2000 – 1 Nov 2000 | Event Budleigh Salterton 5 outlines | Ordinary watercourse | Channel capacity exceeded (no raised defences) | EX13 EX24 EX9 |
| 7 Aug 1997 | Map Cabinet 4 outlines | Main river | Channel capacity exceeded (no raised defences) | EX11 EX14 |
| 1 Dec 1993 – 31 Dec 1993 | River Exe: Thorverton 2 outlines | Main river | Channel capacity exceeded (no raised defences) | EX5 |
| 19 Dec 1992 | — | Main river | Channel capacity exceeded (no raised defences) | EX13 |
| 18 Dec 1992 – 19 Dec 1992 | Broadclyst 31 outlines | Main river, ordinary watercourse | Channel capacity exceeded (no raised defences) | EX12 EX13 EX14 EX24 EX5 |
| 17 Dec 1992 – 19 Dec 1992 | River Clyst: Cranny Brook 16 outlines | Main river | Channel capacity exceeded (no raised defences) | EX5 |
| 1 Dec 1992 | — | Main river | Channel capacity exceeded (no raised defences) | EX14 |
| 21 Jan 1985 | Axminster 4 outlines | Main river | Channel capacity exceeded (no raised defences) | EX13 |
| 27 Jan 1984 | — 3 outlines | Main river, ordinary watercourse | Channel capacity exceeded (no raised defences) | EX5 |
| 1 Jan 1984 – 31 Jan 1984 | River Culm: Kensham House 2 outlines | Main river | Channel capacity exceeded (no raised defences) | EX5 |
| 19 Dec 1983 | — | Main river | Channel capacity exceeded (no raised defences) | EX5 |
| 16 Oct 1982 | Lympstone 3 outlines | Sea | Overtopping of defences | EX8 |
| 9 Jan 1982 | — | Sea | Overtopping of defences | EX8 |
| 30 Dec 1981 | Clyst Honiton | Ordinary watercourse | Channel capacity exceeded (no raised defences) | EX5 |
| 20 Dec 1981 | Hele | Main river | Channel capacity exceeded (no raised defences) | EX5 |
| 1 Jun 1981 | Monkton, Ford Bridge 2 outlines | Main river | Channel capacity exceeded (no raised defences) | EX14 |
| 1 Oct 1980 – 31 Oct 1980 | River Exe: Starcross 4 outlines | Main river | Channel capacity exceeded (no raised defences) | EX8 |
| 1 Jan 1980 – 31 Dec 1980 | Clyst | Main river | Channel capacity exceeded (no raised defences) | EX5 |
| 1 Dec 1979 – 31 Dec 1979 | River Culm: Silverton Paper Mill 3 outlines | Main river | Channel capacity exceeded (no raised defences) | EX5 |
| 31 May 1979 | Axminster | Ordinary watercourse | Channel capacity exceeded (no raised defences) | EX13 |
| 30 May 1979 | — | Main river | Channel capacity exceeded (no raised defences) | EX24 |
| 13 Feb 1979 | Seaton | Sea | Overtopping of defences | EX12 |
| 2 Dec 1972 | Littleham Brook 3 outlines | Ordinary watercourse, main river | Channel capacity exceeded (no raised defences) | EX10 EX8 |
| 18 Jul 1972 | R.Clyst 37 outlines | Main river | Channel capacity exceeded (no raised defences) | EX10 EX11 EX5 EX9 |
| 1 Jan 1972 – 31 Dec 1972 | Back Brook 3 outlines | Ordinary watercourse | Channel capacity exceeded (no raised defences) | EX9 |
| 10 Jul 1968 – 11 Jul 1968 | River Otter 97 outlines | Main river, ordinary watercourse | Channel capacity exceeded (no raised defences) | EX10 EX11 EX12 EX13 EX14 EX24 EX5 EX9 |
| 9 Jan 1968 | — 6 outlines | Ordinary watercourse | Channel capacity exceeded (no raised defences) | EX13 |
| 1 Jan 1968 | — | Main river | Channel capacity exceeded (no raised defences) | EX24 |
| 19 Dec 1965 | River Kenn 15 outlines | Main river | Channel capacity exceeded (no raised defences) | EX11 EX5 EX8 |
| 29 Nov 1965 | River Clyst event | Main river | Channel capacity exceeded (no raised defences) | EX5 |
Showing the 40 most recent of 49 dates.
What this page shows, and what it misses
The Environment Agency's count of properties in each postcode that sit in areas of land at very low, low, medium or high risk of flooding from rivers and the sea, allowing for flood defences and their condition, added up here by postcode district and local authority. Every property in England is counted once, so the share is of all properties in the area.
It misses: surface water (heavy rain), groundwater, sewer and reservoir flooding; Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland; and anything about a single building. A band describes the land a property stands on, not its floor level or flood protection, so it is not a forecast for any one home. Past floods come from the EA's Recorded Flood Outlines and are placed in the postcode district whose centre is nearest (within 12 km), so a flood near a boundary can be listed under a neighbour. Older records are patchy, and a flood with no outline is not listed.
"East Devon" means the local authority area (ONS code E07000040), not only the town centre.
If you live in East Devon
- Check your own address on gov.uk; it also covers surface water.
- Sign up for free flood warnings: gov.uk/get-flood-warnings. Floodline: 0345 988 1188.
- What is in force now: flood warnings UK · river levels.
- Never walk or drive through flood water: why shallow water kills.
FAQQuestions people ask
Is East Devon at risk of flooding?
In East Devon, 5,934 of 103,530 properties (5.7%) are in areas at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers and the sea — at least a 1 in 100 chance in any year — per Environment Agency data updated 6 July 2026; that ranks 20th of 296 local authorities in England by number.
Which parts of East Devon have the most properties at flood risk?
Postcode district EX8 has the most: 2,544 properties at high or medium risk (11.1% of its properties in East Devon). The table on this page lists every district.
When did East Devon last flood?
The Environment Agency has mapped flood outlines on 49 dates in postcode districts that mostly lie in East Devon since 1960; the most recent started on 1 Nov 2023.
Does this include surface water flooding?
No. These counts cover flooding from rivers and the sea only. Surface water (heavy rain) flooding affects more properties in England; check it for one address on gov.uk's long-term flood risk service.
Flood risk counts: Environment Agency, Risk of Flooding from Rivers and Sea – Postcodes in Areas at Risk and Recorded Flood Outlines, used under the Open Government Licence v3.0. © Environment Agency copyright and/or database right 2025. All rights reserved. Some features of this information are based on digital spatial data from the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, © NERC (CEH). © Crown Copyright and Database Rights 2025 OS AC0000807064. This product is produced in part from PAF® and Multiple Residence Data, the copyright in which is owned by Royal Mail Group Limited and/or Royal Mail Group plc. All rights reserved. Licence number AC0000807064.
Local authority of each postcode: Office for National Statistics postcode lookup (May 2026), licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026. District centres and place names: postcodes.io (ONS/OS open data). Totals, ranks and grouping are Global Incident Tracker's own calculations; the Environment Agency does not endorse them.