Does Ottery St Mary flood?

What the Environment Agency's rivers-and-sea flood-risk data says about Ottery St Mary

Ordnance Survey places 46 postcodes in Ottery St Mary 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 426 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 Ottery St Mary

Environment Agency gauges within 10 km of Ottery St Mary watch River Tale, River Otter, River Sid, Wool Brook, Ford Stream, The Gissage, Glen Stream, River Clyst.

• Fairmile
  River Tale · 2.0 km away 0.45 m
  normal range · just past its peak · 28 min ago
• Fenny Bridges
  River Otter · 3.7 km away 0.40 m
  normal range · just past its peak · 28 min ago
• Sidbury
  River Sid · 5.8 km away 0.50 m
  normal range · falling · 58 min ago
• Sidmouth Higher Woolbrook Road
  Wool Brook · 6.2 km away 0.13 m
  normal range · falling · 43 min ago
• Dotton
  River Otter · 7.0 km away 0.43 m
  normal range · rising · 28 min ago
• Rockbeare Bridge
  Ford Stream · 7.6 km away 0.48 m
  normal range · 2 h ago
• Honiton
  The Gissage · 8.2 km away 0.04 m
  normal range · 28 min ago
• Sidmouth
  River Sid · 8.3 km away 0.06 m
  normal range · steady · 28 min ago
• Honiton
  Glen Stream · 8.7 km away 0.02 m
  below normal · steady · 28 min ago
• Ashclyst
  River Clyst · 8.9 km away 0.17 m
  normal range · steady · 28 min ago

Distances are from the middle of Ottery St Mary'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 Ottery St Mary

7 Environment Agency flood warning areas lie within 10 km of Ottery St Mary. The EA has issued 30 flood warnings and alerts for them since 2006, most recently on 27 Jan 2026.

• low lying properties and roads in Ottery St. Mary, including the Finnimore Industrial Estate, Thorne Farm Way and Luxtons Park
  3 warnings and alerts since 2006, latest Jan 2026 0.3 km
• riverside properties and roads in Sidbury and Sidford, including the A375 at Sidbury and the A3052 at Sidford
  8 warnings and alerts since 2006, latest Jan 2026 6.1 km
• riverside properties and roads including Tipton St John, Harpford, Newton Poppleford including the A3052, Colaton Raleigh, Otterton and Budleigh Salterton
  8 warnings and alerts since 2006, latest Jan 2026 6.9 km
• low lying properties and roads including, Primley Gardens, Mill Street, Riverside Road, York Street, Ham Lane, East Street and Fore Street areas
  no warning on record since 2006 7.6 km
• Riverside properties and roads in Honiton, including High Street, Mill Street, King Street, Fairfield Gardens, Jerrard Close, Whitebridges and Honiton Bowling Club
  no warning on record since 2006 8.2 km
• low-lying parts of Sidmouth, including The Esplanade, Fore Street, East Street and Ham Lane areas
  no warning on record since 2006 8.6 km
• riverside locations and roads between Upottery and Cadhay Bridge, including Monkton, Honiton, Weston, Fenny Bridges and Gosford
  11 warnings and alerts since 2006, latest Jan 2026 8.9 km

Recorded floods near Ottery St Mary

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

• 22 Nov 2012 — Feniton Flood November 2012 Drainage
• 7 Jul 2012 — Sidbury Flood July 2012 Main river
• 30 Oct 2008 — Feniton Surface Water Flooding 2008 Other
• 30 Oct 2008 — NewtonPoppleford Main river
• 30 Oct 2008 — OSM2 Ordinary watercourse
• 30 Oct 2008 — West Hill2 Ordinary watercourse
• 30 Oct 2008 — Alfington Ordinary watercourse
• 30 Oct 2008 — Otter Catchment15 Main river
• 30 Oct 2008 — Otter Catchment16 Main river
• 30 Oct 2008 — Otter Catchment9 Main river
• 30 Oct 2008 — Otter Catchment8 Main river
• 30 Oct 2008 — Otter Catchment12 Main river

…and 24 earlier recorded floods on the map.

Rainfall near Ottery St Mary

Ottery St Mary gets about 942 mm of rain a year on average (wettest month November, 112 mm; driest May, 55 mm). That is 19% drier than the UK as a whole, which averages 1,163 mm a year. Source: Met Office HadUK-Grid 1991–2020 (5 km grid), 2.9 km from the place centre.

The nearest rain gauge, Rainfall station (1.9 km away), recorded 9.6 mm in the last 24 hours and 82.8 mm in the last 7 days (latest reading 43 min ago).

At-risk postcodes in Ottery St Mary

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

High likelihood (30)

Medium likelihood (8)

Low likelihood (8)

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.