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No official flood warning is active nearby and the closest river stations are within normal ranges.
Updated 2026-10-10 12:32:50 UTC · Official GOV.UK warnings · Flood preparation & help guide
Chipping Ongar is a market town in the parish of Ongar, in the Epping Forest District of Essex, England. It is located 6 miles (10 km) east of Epping, 7 miles (11 km) south-east of Harlow and 7 miles (11 km) north-west of Brentwood. At the 2021 census the built up area as defined by the Office for National Statistics had a population of 3,967. The Royal Mail uses Ongar as the name for the post town covering the area; the name Chipping Ongar is not used in official postal addresses.
Towns and villages near Chipping Ongar with a page of their own: the homes in a flood risk area there, the nearest river gauges, and recorded floods.
North Weald Bassett · Brentwood
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.
The nearest watercourse on the river map is Cripsey Brook, about 10 m from the middle of Chipping Ongar's gauges. It flows into the River Roding about 2.1 km downstream.
A gauge downstream shows water that has already passed this point; one upstream sees it first. Distances along the river are from the point on Cripsey Brook nearest the middle of Chipping Ongar'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.
Chipping Ongar is monitored by 1 Environment Agency river level station on the Cripsey Brook, in Essex. Water levels are updated every 15 minutes, providing real-time flood monitoring for the area.
The Cripsey Brook is monitored by 1 station (Chipping Ongar). Each station records water levels continuously, with data synced to FloodRadar every 5 minutes.
There are 6 Environment Agency flood warning areas within 10km of Chipping Ongar. When the EA issues a flood warning for any of these areas, it will appear on this page. These include: The Cripsey Brook at Chipping Ongar including Shelley; The Upper River Roding including Molehill Green, Dunmow, Ongar, Fyfield, High Ongar and Stapleford; The River Roding at Fyfield including High Ongar Bridge; The Cripsey Brook including Thornwood Common, North Weald Bassett, Moreton and Chipping Ongar.
There is 1 storm overflow within 5km of Chipping Ongar. None has a live status right now, so whether any is discharging is not known. Enable "Sewage" on the map above to see their locations.
It has its own page of live status and past discharges:
If flooding is forecast in Chipping Ongar, 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.
Chipping Ongar gets about 640 mm of rain a year on average (wettest month October, 70 mm; driest March, 38 mm). That is 45% drier than 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), 2.5 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.
Chipping Ongar has river level monitoring on Cripsey Brook — 1 monitoring station 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 15 recorded flood extents around the town centre since 1703, most recently in 1993. 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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