Manchester Flood Risk
In Manchester, 5,679 of 301,635 properties (1.9%) 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 24th of 296 local authorities in England by number.
By bandProperties in Manchester 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 | 1,456 | 1,258 |
| Medium | between 1% and 3.3% (1 in 100 to 1 in 30) chance in any year | 4,223 | 3,979 |
| Low | between 0.1% and 1% (1 in 1,000 to 1 in 100) chance in any year | 15,951 | 14,636 |
| Very low | less than 0.1% (1 in 1,000) chance in any year | 1,251 | 1,171 |
5,237 of the high- or medium-risk properties are homes and 351 are non-residential. 512 postcodes in Manchester have at least one property at high or medium risk.
Postcode districtsFlood risk across Manchester
Counts are for the part of each district inside Manchester.
| District | Properties | High + medium | High | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M14 | 30,699 | 1,765 | 509 | 5.7% |
| M16 | 8,988 | 1,072 | 28 | 11.9% |
| M1 | 18,308 | 728 | 47 | 4.0% |
| M20 | 24,063 | 520 | 238 | 2.2% |
| M22 | 20,958 | 494 | 97 | 2.4% |
| M21 | 13,854 | 262 | 64 | 1.9% |
| M40 | 22,685 | 158 | 97 | 0.7% |
| M3 | 5,229 | 158 | 156 | 3.0% |
| M15 | 23,723 | 154 | 3 | 0.6% |
| M23 | 15,540 | 86 | 33 | 0.6% |
| M8 | 14,696 | 68 | 48 | 0.5% |
| M33 | 429 | 67 | 63 | 15.6% |
| M9 | 20,358 | 58 | 53 | 0.3% |
| M4 | 16,396 | 48 | 15 | 0.3% |
| M19 | 15,764 | 15 | 2 | 0.1% |
| M11 | 12,017 | 11 | 0 | 0.1% |
| M12 | 8,500 | 9 | 1 | 0.1% |
| M18 | 12,072 | 3 | 2 | 0.0% |
| M7 | 240 | 2 | 0 | 0.8% |
| M13 | 14,426 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| M2 | 1,657 | 0 | 0 | 0.0% |
| M90 | 487 | 0 | 0 | 0.0% |
| M60 | 442 | 0 | 0 | 0.0% |
| WA15 | 99 | 0 | 0 | 0.0% |
| M99 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0.0% |
Recorded floodsPast floods mapped in Manchester
The Environment Agency has mapped flood outlines on 27 dates in postcode districts that mostly lie in Manchester since 1964; the most recent started on 1 Jan 2025.
1960s 1 1970s 3 1990s 7 2000s 12 2010s 2 2020s 2
| Started | Place / name in the record | Source of flooding | Cause | Districts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Jan 2025 | Manchester Didsbury NYE/NYD 30 outlines | Main river, drainage | Local drainage/surface water | M1 M20 M22 M23 M8 |
| 20 Jan 2021 | Didsbury | Main river | Other | M20 |
| 16 Mar 2019 | Waterside Hotel 3 outlines | Main river, drainage | Channel capacity exceeded (no raised defences) | M20 M4 M9 |
| 26 Dec 2015 | Cheetham Hill | Main river | Overtopping of defences | M4 |
| 21 Jan 2008 – 22 Jan 2008 | River Medlock Manchester 3 outlines | Main river | Not recorded | M1 M20 M9 |
| 25 Sep 2007 | AshtonCanal Ancoats | Other | Not recorded | M1 |
| 10 Aug 2004 – 11 Aug 2004 | Shaw Brook | Main river | Local drainage/surface water | M20 |
| 29 Dec 2002 – 30 Dec 2002 | — | Not recorded | Not recorded | M22 |
| 30 Jul 2002 – 31 Jul 2002 | River Medlock Manchester 2 outlines | Ordinary watercourse | Not recorded | M1 M4 |
| 10 Feb 2002 – 11 Feb 2002 | RiverMersey WatersideHotel | Not recorded | Other | M20 |
| 8 Feb 2002 – 9 Feb 2002 | — | Not recorded | Channel capacity exceeded (no raised defences) | M20 |
| 26 Oct 2001 – 27 Oct 2001 | — 3 outlines | Main river | Obstruction/blockage - channel | M19 |
| 16 Nov 2000 – 17 Nov 2000 | — 2 outlines | Not recorded | Other | M20 |
| 10 Oct 2000 – 11 Oct 2000 | — | Not recorded | Other | M20 |
| 25 Sep 2000 – 26 Sep 2000 | — | Not recorded | Channel capacity exceeded (no raised defences) | M8 |
| 1 Jun 2000 – 2 Jun 2000 | — | Not recorded | Channel capacity exceeded (no raised defences) | M2 |
| 2 Mar 1999 – 3 Mar 1999 | — | Not recorded | Other | M4 |
| 13 Nov 1998 – 14 Nov 1998 | — | Not recorded | Obstruction/blockage - channel | M22 |
| 23 Oct 1998 – 24 Oct 1998 | — 4 outlines | Not recorded | Channel capacity exceeded (no raised defences) | M20 M21 M23 |
| 3 Mar 1998 – 4 Mar 1998 | — 5 outlines | Not recorded | Channel capacity exceeded (no raised defences) | M20 M22 M23 |
| 3 Jan 1998 – 4 Jan 1998 | — | Not recorded | Obstruction/blockage - channel | M22 |
| 24 Dec 1997 – 25 Dec 1997 | — 3 outlines | Not recorded | Channel capacity exceeded (no raised defences) | M14 M22 |
| 21 Dec 1991 – 22 Dec 1991 | BridgewaterCanal Castlefield | Other | Other | M15 |
| 27 Dec 1978 – 28 Dec 1978 | — 5 outlines | Not recorded | Channel capacity exceeded (no raised defences) | M20 M21 |
| 5 Oct 1973 – 6 Oct 1973 | — | Not recorded | Operational failure/breach of defence | M22 |
| 16 Jul 1973 – 17 Jul 1973 | — 4 outlines | Not recorded | Channel capacity exceeded (no raised defences) | M20 |
| 1 Jan 1964 – 2 Jan 1964 | — 6 outlines | Not recorded | Not recorded | M20 M21 M23 |
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.
"Manchester" means the local authority area (ONS code E08000003), not only the town centre.
If you live in Manchester
- 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 Manchester at risk of flooding?
In Manchester, 5,679 of 301,635 properties (1.9%) 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 24th of 296 local authorities in England by number.
Which parts of Manchester have the most properties at flood risk?
Postcode district M14 has the most: 1,765 properties at high or medium risk (5.7% of its properties in Manchester). The table on this page lists every district.
When did Manchester last flood?
The Environment Agency has mapped flood outlines on 27 dates in postcode districts that mostly lie in Manchester since 1964; the most recent started on 1 Jan 2025.
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.