Wakefield Flood Risk
In Wakefield, 2,858 of 194,248 properties (1.5%) 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 69th of 296 local authorities in England by number.
By bandProperties in Wakefield 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 | 1,008 | 503 |
| Medium | between 1% and 3.3% (1 in 100 to 1 in 30) chance in any year | 1,850 | 1,297 |
| Low | between 0.1% and 1% (1 in 1,000 to 1 in 100) chance in any year | 6,482 | 4,601 |
| Very low | less than 0.1% (1 in 1,000) chance in any year | 1,162 | 753 |
1,800 of the high- or medium-risk properties are homes and 818 are non-residential. 346 postcodes in Wakefield have at least one property at high or medium risk.
Postcode districtsFlood risk across Wakefield
Counts are for the part of each district inside Wakefield.
| District | Properties | High + medium | High | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WF2 | 27,829 | 988 | 128 | 3.6% |
| WF1 | 24,900 | 407 | 23 | 1.6% |
| WF11 | 9,376 | 379 | 307 | 4.0% |
| WF4 | 22,649 | 361 | 131 | 1.6% |
| WF10 | 25,451 | 208 | 99 | 0.8% |
| WF8 | 19,407 | 191 | 135 | 1.0% |
| WF6 | 11,915 | 99 | 57 | 0.8% |
| WF9 | 22,095 | 76 | 13 | 0.3% |
| WF7 | 12,093 | 76 | 58 | 0.6% |
| WF5 | 12,278 | 43 | 33 | 0.4% |
| S75 | 245 | 16 | 14 | 6.5% |
| S72 | 1,122 | 8 | 6 | 0.7% |
| WF12 | 12 | 5 | 3 | 41.7% |
| WF3 | 4,876 | 1 | 1 | 0.0% |
Recorded floodsPast floods mapped in Wakefield
The Environment Agency has mapped flood outlines on 20 dates in postcode districts that mostly lie in Wakefield since 1947; the most recent started on 20 Feb 2022.
1940s 1 1970s 1 1980s 4 1990s 1 2000s 7 2010s 1 2020s 5
| Started | Place / name in the record | Source of flooding | Cause | Districts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 Feb 2022 – 28 Mar 2022 | Storm Dudley, Eunice and Franklin 3 outlines | Main river, other | Other | WF4 WF7 |
| 18 Jan 2021 – 6 Feb 2021 | Storm Christoph 4 outlines | Main river, ordinary watercourse | Channel capacity exceeded (no raised defences) | WF10 WF4 WF6 |
| 28 Oct 2020 – 3 Nov 2020 | Hurricane Epsilon | Main river | Channel capacity exceeded (no raised defences) | WF11 |
| 15 Feb 2020 – 19 Mar 2020 | Storm Dennis 4 outlines | Ordinary watercourse, main river | Channel capacity exceeded (no raised defences) | WF10 WF11 WF7 |
| 8 Feb 2020 – 14 Feb 2020 | Storm Ciara | Ordinary watercourse | Overtopping of defences | WF11 |
| 25 Dec 2015 – 29 Dec 2015 | — | Main river | Channel capacity exceeded (no raised defences) | WF10 |
| 25 Jun 2007 – 26 Jun 2007 | — 2 outlines | Not recorded | Not recorded | WF11 WF9 |
| 9 Aug 2004 – 10 Aug 2004 | — 7 outlines | Main river | Channel capacity exceeded (no raised defences) | WF11 WF8 |
| 10 Feb 2002 – 13 Feb 2002 | River Calder. Wakefield. 10 outlines | Main river | Other | WF10 WF11 WF2 WF5 WF6 |
| 8 Nov 2000 – 4 Dec 2000 | — 13 outlines | Main river | Not recorded | WF7 WF8 WF9 |
| 31 Oct 2000 – 15 Dec 2000 | — 2 outlines | Main river | Not recorded | WF10 WF11 |
| 30 Oct 2000 – 15 Dec 2000 | — 3 outlines | Main river | Not recorded | WF10 WF11 |
| 1 Oct 2000 – 30 Nov 2000 | — | Main river | Not recorded | WF11 |
| 1 Feb 1995 – 28 Feb 1995 | Lower Aire 16 outlines | Main river | Other | WF10 WF11 WF8 |
| 14 Mar 1982 | — 3 outlines | Ordinary watercourse, main river | Other | WF11 |
| 3 Jan 1982 – 31 Jan 1982 | Allerton Bywater 14 outlines | Main river, drainage | Other | WF10 WF11 |
| 1 Jan 1982 – 31 Jan 1982 | Lower Aire 3 outlines | Main river, drainage | Other | WF10 WF11 |
| 22 Mar 1981 – 25 Mar 1981 | — 4 outlines | Main river, ordinary watercourse | Other | WF11 |
| 1 Dec 1978 – 31 Dec 1978 | Lower AIre Washlands 12 outlines | Main river | Other | WF10 WF11 |
| 19 Mar 1947 – 22 Mar 1947 | — 5 outlines | Main river, ordinary watercourse | Channel capacity exceeded (no raised defences) | WF7 WF9 |
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.
"Wakefield" means the local authority area (ONS code E08000036), not only the town centre.
If you live in Wakefield
- 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 Wakefield at risk of flooding?
In Wakefield, 2,858 of 194,248 properties (1.5%) 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 69th of 296 local authorities in England by number.
Which parts of Wakefield have the most properties at flood risk?
Postcode district WF2 has the most: 988 properties at high or medium risk (3.6% of its properties in Wakefield). The table on this page lists every district.
When did Wakefield last flood?
The Environment Agency has mapped flood outlines on 20 dates in postcode districts that mostly lie in Wakefield since 1947; the most recent started on 20 Feb 2022.
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.