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Does Blackburn flood? 223 postcodes in Blackburn are in the Environment Agency's rivers-and-sea flood-risk data (45 High, 34 Medium likelihood) — the breakdown is further down this page.
No official flood warning is active nearby and the closest river stations are within normal ranges.
Updated 2026-10-08 01:35:20 UTC · Official GOV.UK warnings · Flood preparation & help guide
Blackburn is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough, in Lancashire, England. The town lies north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, 8 miles (13 km) east of Preston and 21 miles (34 km) north-north-west of Manchester. Blackburn is at the centre of the wider unitary authority area along with the town of Darwen. It is the second-largest town in Lancashire, after Blackpool.
Ordnance Survey places 223 postcodes in Blackburn 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 2,614 properties in the EA dataset's likelihood bands.
| EA likelihood band | Postcodes (worst band) | Properties in the EA dataset | of which homes |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | 45 | 264 | 96 |
| Medium | 34 | 523 | 343 |
| Low | 136 | 1,646 | 893 |
| Very low | 8 | 181 | 107 |
| All bands | 223 | 2,614 | 1,439 |
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.
…and 123 more at-risk postcodes, listed on the district pages below.
Oswaldtwistle · Church · Great Harwood · Haslingden
Flood-risk bands: © Environment Agency copyright and/or database right 2025. All rights reserved. Some features of this map 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.
Place names: Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database rights 2026. Contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026. Contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Two mapped watercourses are about the same distance from the middle of Blackburn's gauges: the River Darwen (about 640 m) and the River Blakewater (about 760 m), so this page cannot say which one is nearer to you.
Distances along the river are from the point on each watercourse nearest the middle of Blackburn's gauges. From Ordnance Survey’s river map (OS Open Rivers), which leaves out small streams, ditches and culverts, so a nearer one may exist. This describes where water goes on the map; it says nothing about flooding at any address. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database rights 2026.
Blackburn is monitored by 5 Environment Agency river level stations on the Ewood Mill Race, the River Blakewater, the River Darwen, in Blackburn with Darwen. Water levels are updated every 15 minutes, providing real-time flood monitoring for the area.
The Ewood Mill Race is monitored by 2 stations (Ewood Ashville Terrace North, Ewood Ashville Terrace South). The River Blakewater is monitored by 2 stations (Gorse Street, Harrison Street). The River Darwen is monitored by 1 station (Blackburn Waterfall). Each station records water levels continuously, with data synced to FloodRadar every 5 minutes.
There are 8 Environment Agency flood warning areas within 10km of Blackburn. When the EA issues a flood warning for any of these areas, it will appear on this page. These include: Properties in the Lower Darwen Bridge, Bolton Road, Waterfall, Griffin and Witton areas; River Blakewater at Blackburn Wranglings, including Railway Road, Darwen Street, Canterbury Street, Harrison Street and Whalley Banks; Properties adjacent to the River Darwen, including Ewood Park, Stancliffe Street, Griffin Mill and River Mill; Ewood Mill Race at Ewood, Blackburn, including Bolton Road, Nuttall Street and Ashville Terrace.
There are 60 storm overflows within 5km of Blackburn. None of the 60 with a reporting monitor are currently discharging. Enable "Sewage" on the map above to see their locations.
6 of them, nearest first, with their own page of live status and past discharges:
If flooding is forecast in Blackburn, call Floodline on 0345 988 1188 for the latest information. Move valuables upstairs, turn off gas and electricity if safe to do so, and avoid walking or driving through flood water. Sign up for flood warnings on any station page above to receive email alerts when water levels rise. For emergency numbers, a preparation checklist and insurance guidance, see our flood help & preparation guide.
Blackburn gets about 1,180 mm of rain a year on average (wettest month December, 136 mm; driest April, 68 mm). That is close to the UK as a whole, which averages 1,163 mm a year. See the rain gauges →
A thirty-year average for the area, not a forecast and not a flood risk on its own. Source: Met Office HadUK-Grid 1991–2020 (5 km grid), 0.8 km away. Average rainfall: HadUK-Grid v1.3.2, Met Office. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Floods whose mapped extent (EA Recorded Flood Outlines) reached within ~5 km of the town centre — most recent first. These are records of mapped extents, not a full list of floods. See them on the map →
Records, not floods: no outline on the record is not evidence a place has not flooded.
Current verdict: Normal. No official flood warning is active nearby and the closest river stations are within normal ranges.
Blackburn has river level monitoring on Ewood Mill Race, River Blakewater, River Darwen — 5 monitoring stations in total.
Use the GOV.UK Check for Flooding service (check-for-flooding.service.gov.uk) or call Floodline on 0345 988 1188 (24 hours). You can also set up free FloodRadar email or browser alerts from any station page above.
Follow official advice: move valuables and vehicles to safety, never walk or drive through flood water, turn off gas and electricity if safe, and check on vulnerable neighbours. See our flood preparation guide at floodradar.co.uk/flood-help.
Yes — the Environment Agency's Recorded Flood Outlines dataset shows 6 recorded flood extents around the town centre since 1703, most recently in 2012. That is a count of mapped extents, not of separate floods. Records, not floods: no outline on the record is not evidence a place has not flooded. See the flood history link below.
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