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Conditions are worth watching: the Environment Agency has a Flood Alert in force for The Suffolk coast at Southwold — flooding is possible from 8:30am to 10:30am on Saturday 10th October. Flooding is possible — be prepared and keep an eye on updates.
Updated 2026-10-09 18:46:20 UTC · Official GOV.UK warnings · Flood preparation & help guide
St Olaves is a village in the English county of Norfolk. The village is situated on the River Waveney, 6 miles (10 km) south-west of the town of Great Yarmouth and the same distance north-west of the Suffolk town of Lowestoft. It is within The Broads national park.
Towns and villages near St Olaves with a page of their own: the homes in a flood risk area there, the nearest river gauges, and recorded floods.
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 an unnamed stream (tidal here), about 10 m from the middle of St Olaves's gauges. It flows into the River Waveney about 20 m 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 an unnamed stream nearest the middle of St Olaves'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.
St Olaves is monitored by 1 Environment Agency river level station on the River Waveney, in Norfolk. Water levels are updated every 15 minutes, providing real-time flood monitoring for the area.
The River Waveney is monitored by 1 station (Haddiscoe). 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 St Olaves. When the EA issues a flood warning for any of these areas, it will appear on this page. These include: The tidal River Waveney from Ellingham to Breydon Water including Beccles Quay, Oulton Broad, Somerleyton, St Olaves, Haddiscoe and Belton; The tidal River Waveney from Ellingham Marshes to Belton; Riverside properties along the tidal River Yare including Cantley, Brundall and Reedham; The tidal River Yare, from Thorpe St Andrew to Breydon Water including Brundall, Cantley, Reedham and Burgh Castle.
There is 1 storm overflow within 5km of St Olaves. None of the 1 with a reporting monitor is currently discharging. 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 St Olaves, 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.
St Olaves gets about 630 mm of rain a year on average (wettest month October, 69 mm; driest April, 35 mm). That is 46% 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), 2.2 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: Watch. Conditions are worth watching: the Environment Agency has a Flood Alert in force for The Suffolk coast at Southwold — flooding is possible from 8:30am to 10:30am on Saturday 10th October. Flooding is possible — be prepared and keep an eye on updates.
St Olaves has river level monitoring on River Waveney — 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 2 recorded flood extents around the town centre since 1703, most recently in 1953. 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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