Does Bideford flood?

Flood warnings in force near Bideford

• Flood alert — North Devon coast from Hartland Point to Lynmouth
  Flooding is possible 2 hours either side of high tide on Monday afternoon 6.6 km

From the Environment Agency (England). Always check the GOV.UK Check for Flooding service or call Floodline on 0345 988 1188.

What the Environment Agency's rivers-and-sea flood-risk data says about Bideford

Ordnance Survey places 84 postcodes in Bideford in the Environment Agency's rivers-and-sea flood-risk dataset (Risk of Flooding from Rivers and Sea). Each postcode is counted once, under the worst band any of its properties reaches; together they hold 1,183 properties in the EA dataset's likelihood bands.

This dataset covers flooding from rivers and the sea only — one of five flood sources. Surface water, groundwater, sewers and reservoirs are assessed separately, so a postcode missing from it is not proof that a place cannot flood. The band describes the land around properties (allowing for defences), not any single address and not today's conditions.

Rivers and live river levels near Bideford

Environment Agency gauges within 10 km of Bideford watch Kenwith Stream, River Torridge, River Caen (Tidal).

• Bideford Elliots Kingsley Road Tidal
  Kenwith Stream · 0.1 km away 1.53 m
  rises and falls with the tide · 29 min ago
• Kenwith Castle
  Kenwith Stream · 2.1 km away 0.40 m
  normal range · 29 min ago
• Weare Giffard Tidal
  River Torridge · 5.2 km away 1.48 m
  rises and falls with the tide · 29 min ago
• Braunton Tidal
  River Caen (Tidal) · 9.4 km away 4.05 m
  rises and falls with the tide · 29 min ago
• Torrington
  River Torridge · 9.6 km away 1.58 m
  normal range · rising · 29 min ago

Distances are from the middle of Bideford's at-risk postcodes. Tidal and structure gauges are shown as readings only — the tide and sluice gates move them, not floods. A gauge with no recent reading shows no level.

Flood warning areas near Bideford

6 Environment Agency flood warning areas lie within 10 km of Bideford. The EA has issued 316 flood warnings and alerts for them since 2006, most recently on 26 Oct 2026.

• Northam Road, Kingsley Road, Alexandra Terrace, Elmdale Road, Newton Road, Meadowville Road, Copps Close and Stanhope Terrace in Bideford
  no warning on record since 2006 0.3 km
• Low lying parts of Bideford, including The Quay and Victoria Park areas
  no warning on record since 2006 0.3 km
• Low lying areas on the tidal River Torridge, including Weare Giffard, Bideford East-the-Water, Wooder Wharf and Northam
  18 warnings and alerts since 2006, latest Apr 2024 1.8 km
• Low-lying or exposed parts of coastal communities in North Devon, including Clovelly, Westward Ho!, Woolacombe, Lee, Hele, Watermouth Cove and Combe Martin
  28 warnings and alerts since 2006, latest Apr 2024 3.6 km
• Coastal and tidal areas between Hartland Point and Lynmouth, including the Taw Torridge estuary
  no warning on record since 2006 6.6 km
• low lying areas and communities in the Taw Torridge Estuary, including Instow, Appledore, Fremington, Muddlebridge, Braunton Marsh, Velator, Wrafton, Chivenor and Yelland
  9 warnings and alerts since 2006, latest Mar 2020 8.0 km

Recorded floods near Bideford

Floods whose mapped extent (EA Recorded Flood Outlines) reached within ~5 km of Bideford, most recent first. Records, not floods: no outline on the record is not evidence a place has not flooded. See them on the map →

• 3 Jan 2014 — Westward Ho! Tidal Flood Jan 2014 Sea
• 3 Jan 2014 — Bideford Tidal Flood Jan 2014 Sea
• 1 Jan 2014 — Westleigh ETW Tidal Flood Jan 2014 Sea
• 1 Jan 2014 — Instow Tidal Flood Jan 2014 Sea
• 30 Oct 2000 — Autumn 2000 Event - Weare Giffard Ordinary watercourse
• 30 Dec 1992 — Bideford - Dec-92 Sea
• 1 Dec 1979 — River Torridge: Weare Giffard Main river
• 1 Dec 1979 — Kenwith Valley: 1979 Main river
• 2 Nov 1970 — Weare Gifford Main river
• 18 Dec 1965 — River Torride: Dec 1965 Main river
• 19 Nov 1963 — Nov-63 Ordinary watercourse

Rainfall near Bideford

Bideford gets about 1,029 mm of rain a year on average (wettest month December, 124 mm; driest May, 57 mm). That is close to the UK as a whole, which averages 1,163 mm a year. Source: Met Office HadUK-Grid 1991–2020 (5 km grid), 2.3 km from the place centre.

The nearest rain gauge, Rainfall station (2.1 km away), recorded 8.7 mm in the last 24 hours and 78.1 mm in the last 7 days (latest reading 29 min ago).

At-risk postcodes in Bideford

Every postcode Ordnance Survey places in Bideford that appears in the EA's rivers-and-sea dataset, worst band first. Each links to its own flood-risk page.

High likelihood (33)

Medium likelihood (18)

Low likelihood (29)

Very low likelihood (4)

Postcode districts

Sources

FloodRadar summarises public flood data. It is not a flood-risk survey of any property, and it does not replace official GOV.UK flood warnings or the GOV.UK long-term flood risk service.