Home › Essex › Loughton

Loughton Flooding

Essex • Live river level monitoring on River Roding
1 monitoring station
1 river
8 warning areas
🏠 Thinking of buying in Loughton? Get the detailed Property Flood-Risk Report for any Loughton postcode — official risk band, recorded floods since 1703, warning history, river behaviour and nearby storm overflows. £19 one-off, instant. Learn more →

Does Loughton flood? 54 postcodes in Loughton are in the Environment Agency's rivers-and-sea flood-risk data (15 High, 6 Medium likelihood) — the breakdown is further down this page.

Flood risk in Loughton today: Watch

Conditions are worth watching: the Environment Agency has a Flood Alert in force for Tidal Thames riverside from the Thames Barrier to Putney Bridge — flooding is possible from 01:00 AM to 03:00 AM on Saturday 10th October. Flooding is possible — be prepared and keep an eye on updates.

Updated 2026-10-10 00:05:23 UTC · Official GOV.UK warnings · Flood preparation & help guide

About Loughton
Loughton
Town in southwest Essex, England

Loughton is a town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex, England. It is inside the M25 London orbital motorway but lies just outside the administrative boundary of Greater London. It lies 13 miles (21 km) north-east of Charing Cross in central London. The parish has two stations on the Central line of the London Underground: Loughton and Debden. At the 2021 census the parish had a population of 33,346.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Flood Contacts
Floodline 24hr
0345 988 1188
Emergency
999
The map of Loughton’s gauges and flood maps loads as you reach it.
Recent Flood Events
9 Oct 2026 14:33 Flood Alert
The Essex coast from St Peters Flat to and including Shoeburyness and the Crouch and Roach estuaries
9 Oct 2026 14:25 Flood Alert
The Essex coast from Clacton to and including, St Peters Flat and the Colne and Blackwater estuaries
9 Oct 2026 14:21 Flood Alert
The Suffolk and Essex coast from Felixstowe to Clacton including Orwell and Stour estuaries
29 Sep 2026 17:21 Flood Alert
The Essex coast from Clacton to and including, St Peters Flat and the Colne and Blackwater estuaries
29 Sep 2026 08:49 Flood Alert
The Essex coast from Clacton to and including, St Peters Flat and the Colne and Blackwater estuaries
28 Sep 2026 17:53 Flood Alert
The Essex coast from Clacton to and including, St Peters Flat and the Colne and Blackwater estuaries

Does Loughton flood?

Ordnance Survey places 54 postcodes in Loughton 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 622 properties in the EA dataset's likelihood bands.

EA likelihood bandPostcodes (worst band)Properties in the EA datasetof which homes
High158771
Medium67454
Low27329288
Very low6132117
All bands54622530

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.

The 54 at-risk postcodes in Loughton, worst band first

High likelihood (15)

Medium likelihood (6)

Low likelihood (27)

Very low likelihood (6)

Postcode districts

Places nearby with a page of their own

Woodford · Ilford · North Weald Bassett · Leyton

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.

All data sources & licences

The watercourse nearest Loughton

The nearest watercourse on the river map is the River Roding, about 10 m from the middle of Loughton's gauges. It flows into the River Thames (Buzzards Mouth Sewer) about 20 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 the River Roding nearest the middle of Loughton'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.

Useful Links
Flood Monitoring in Loughton

Loughton is monitored by 1 Environment Agency river level station on the River Roding, in Essex. Water levels are updated every 15 minutes, providing real-time flood monitoring for the area.

Monitoring Stations

The River Roding is monitored by 1 station (Loughton). Each station records water levels continuously, with data synced to FloodRadar every 5 minutes.

Flood Warning Areas

There are 8 Environment Agency flood warning areas within 10km of Loughton. When the EA issues a flood warning for any of these areas, it will appear on this page. These include: The Middle River Roding including Abridge, Loughton, Brookhouse Brook and Buckhurst Hill; The River Roding at Loughton including Buckhurst Hill; The River Roding at Abridge; The River Rom at Collier Row.

Sewage Discharge Monitoring

There are 20 storm overflows within 5km of Loughton. None of the 15 with a reporting monitor are currently discharging (5 have no live status right now). 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:

What To Do During A Flood

If flooding is forecast in Loughton, 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.

How much rain falls on Loughton

Loughton gets about 663 mm of rain a year on average (wettest month October, 71 mm; driest March, 38 mm). That is 43% 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), 2.4 km away. Average rainfall: HadUK-Grid v1.3.2, Met Office. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Recorded floods near Loughton

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 →

  • 2021-01-14 — ea06JanuaryWinter2021 (Main river)
  • 2019-12-20 — ea06DecemberWinter2019 (Main river)
  • 2019-12-20 — ea06DecemberWinter2019 (Main river)
  • 2019-12-20 — ea06DecemberWinter2019 (Main river)
  • 2016-06-23 — ea06JuneSummer2016 (Drainage)
  • 2016-06-23 — ea06JuneSummer2016 (Drainage)
  • 2016-06-23 — ea06JuneSummer2016 (Drainage)
  • 2015-01-09 — ea09JanuaryWinter2015 (Main river)
  • 2015-01-09 — ea09JanuaryWinter2015 (Main river)
  • 2015-01-09 — ea09JanuaryWinter2015 (Main river)
  • 2015-01-09 — ea09JanuaryWinter2015 (Main river)
  • 2015-01-09 — ea06JanuaryWinter2015 (Main river)

Records, not floods: no outline on the record is not evidence a place has not flooded.

Frequently asked questions

Is there flooding in Loughton today?

Current verdict: Watch. Conditions are worth watching: the Environment Agency has a Flood Alert in force for Tidal Thames riverside from the Thames Barrier to Putney Bridge — flooding is possible from 01:00 AM to 03:00 AM on Saturday 10th October. Flooding is possible — be prepared and keep an eye on updates.

Which rivers affect Loughton?

Loughton has river level monitoring on River Roding — 1 monitoring station in total.

How do I check official flood warnings for Loughton?

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.

What should I do during a flood warning?

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.

Has Loughton flooded before?

Yes — the Environment Agency's Recorded Flood Outlines dataset shows 17 recorded flood extents around the town centre since 1703, most recently in 2014. 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.

🏠 Buying or renting around here? Get the Property Flood-Risk Report for any English postcode — official risk band, recorded floods, warning history, river behaviour and nearby storm overflows. £19 one-off. Learn more →