Wigan Flood Risk
In Wigan, 3,108 of 172,314 properties (1.8%) 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 65th of 296 local authorities in England by number.
By bandProperties in Wigan 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 | 1,903 | 1,665 |
| Medium | between 1% and 3.3% (1 in 100 to 1 in 30) chance in any year | 1,205 | 989 |
| Low | between 0.1% and 1% (1 in 1,000 to 1 in 100) chance in any year | 5,081 | 4,411 |
| Very low | less than 0.1% (1 in 1,000) chance in any year | 637 | 462 |
2,654 of the high- or medium-risk properties are homes and 392 are non-residential. 338 postcodes in Wigan have at least one property at high or medium risk.
Postcode districtsFlood risk across Wigan
Counts are for the part of each district inside Wigan.
Recorded floodsPast floods mapped in Wigan
The Environment Agency has mapped flood outlines on 39 dates in postcode districts that mostly lie in Wigan since 1966; the most recent started on 1 Jan 2025.
1960s 1 1980s 1 1990s 4 2000s 10 2010s 15 2020s 8
| Started | Place / name in the record | Source of flooding | Cause | Districts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Jan 2025 | Warrington Glazebury NYE/NYD 2 outlines | Main river | Not recorded | WN7 |
| 31 Dec 2024 – 1 Jan 2025 | Wigan Leigh NYE/NYD 58 outlines | Main river, drainage | Channel capacity exceeded (no raised defences) | M29 WN2 WN4 WN7 |
| 16 Oct 2024 | & Bickershaw Lane | Drainage | Local drainage/surface water | WN2 |
| 30 Sep 2024 | & Bickershaw Lane 4 outlines | Drainage, ordinary watercourse | Local drainage/surface water | M29 WN2 WN4 |
| 2 Jan 2024 – 5 Jan 2024 | Borsdane Brook Storm Henk | Main river | Channel capacity exceeded (no raised defences) | WN2 |
| 5 Nov 2023 – 6 Nov 2023 | Wigan | Drainage | Local drainage/surface water | WN1 |
| 12 Jun 2023 | Higher Folds, Wigan | Sewer | Local drainage/surface water | M29 |
| 20 Jan 2021 | Wigan | Other | Local drainage/surface water | M29 |
| 16 Jun 2016 – 17 Jun 2016 | — | Not recorded | Not recorded | WN6 |
| 15 Jun 2016 – 16 Jun 2016 | — 12 outlines | Main river | Not recorded | WN3 WN5 |
| 26 Dec 2015 – 27 Dec 2015 | Lilford Park 18 outlines | Main river, drainage | Channel capacity exceeded (no raised defences) | WN1 WN2 WN3 WN6 WN7 |
| 22 Jun 2012 – 23 Jun 2012 | Beresford Street, Wigan 2 outlines | Drainage, main river | Other | WN1 |
| 22 Apr 2012 – 23 Apr 2012 | Beresford Street, Wigan | Drainage | Local drainage/surface water | WN1 |
| 3 Jan 2012 | — | Drainage | Obstruction/blockage - culvert | WN1 |
| 23 Dec 2011 | Decemberr | Drainage | Obstruction/blockage - culvert | WN1 |
| 19 Dec 2011 | Beresford Street, Wigan | Other | Obstruction/blockage - culvert | WN1 |
| 13 Dec 2011 | — | Other | Local drainage/surface water | WN1 |
| 11 Dec 2011 | — | Other | Local drainage/surface water | WN1 |
| 4 Dec 2011 | — | Main river | Obstruction/blockage - culvert | WN1 |
| 24 Nov 2011 | Beresford Street, Wigan | Other | Obstruction/blockage - culvert | WN1 |
| 29 Oct 2011 | Wigan | Other | Not recorded | WN1 |
| 10 Jul 2011 | Brookside Road Standish | Other | Local drainage/surface water | WN6 |
| 20 Jul 2010 | Mill Lane | Other | Local drainage/surface water | WN6 |
| 4 Nov 2009 | JacksBrookTrib BowlandAve | Main river | Channel capacity exceeded (no raised defences) | WN4 |
| 26 Jun 2008 – 27 Jun 2008 | Eleanor Street, Wigan 2 outlines | Drainage | Local drainage/surface water | WN1 WN3 |
| 21 Jan 2008 – 22 Jan 2008 | Marsh Brook Hindley, Gt Ma 4 outlines | Main river, other | Other | WN2 WN3 WN4 |
| 10 Aug 2004 – 11 Aug 2004 | Hawkley Brook Flooding 2 outlines | Ordinary watercourse | Obstruction/blockage - culvert | WN3 WN6 |
| 9 Sep 2002 – 10 Sep 2002 | — | Not recorded | Other | WN4 |
| 14 Jun 2002 – 15 Jun 2002 | Millingford Brook Ashton-in-M 6 outlines | Main river | Channel capacity exceeded (no raised defences) | WN2 WN4 WN7 |
| 11 Feb 2001 – 12 Feb 2001 | — | Not recorded | Other | WN4 |
| 29 Oct 2000 – 30 Oct 2000 | — | Main river | Overtopping of defences | WN3 |
| 28 Oct 2000 – 29 Oct 2000 | — 15 outlines | Main river, ordinary watercourse | Channel capacity exceeded (no raised defences) | WN2 WN7 |
| 10 Oct 2000 – 11 Oct 2000 | — | Not recorded | Other | M46 |
| 1 Oct 1999 – 2 Oct 1999 | — | Not recorded | Other | WN7 |
| 4 Jan 1999 – 5 Jan 1999 | — | Not recorded | Obstruction/blockage - channel | WN2 |
| 24 Dec 1997 – 25 Dec 1997 | — 2 outlines | Not recorded | Channel capacity exceeded (no raised defences) | WN4 WN7 |
| 24 Nov 1996 – 25 Nov 1996 | — | Not recorded | Not recorded | WN4 |
| 22 Aug 1987 – 23 Aug 1987 | Calico Brook Flooding | Ordinary watercourse | Other | WN6 |
| 1 Feb 1966 – 2 Feb 1966 | — 2 outlines | Main river | Operational failure/breach of defence | WN1 WN3 |
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.
"Wigan" means the local authority area (ONS code E08000010), not only the town centre.
If you live in Wigan
- 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 Wigan at risk of flooding?
In Wigan, 3,108 of 172,314 properties (1.8%) 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 65th of 296 local authorities in England by number.
Which parts of Wigan have the most properties at flood risk?
Postcode district WN7 has the most: 884 properties at high or medium risk (3.2% of its properties in Wigan). The table on this page lists every district.
When did Wigan last flood?
The Environment Agency has mapped flood outlines on 39 dates in postcode districts that mostly lie in Wigan since 1966; 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.