UK Flood Map
Fathom-UK offers comprehensive flood hazard modelling for
the whole of the United Kingdom
Introduction
Fathom’s UK Flood Map, Fathom-UK, offers an alternative view of flood risk. Using a combination of world-leading research and cutting edge modelling techniques, we can accurately simulate UK flood hazard for both current and future climate scenarios
Product key features
10 meter resolution.
10 return periods – Ranging from 1:5 year to 1:1000 year. Return periods can be categorised to suit your risk appetite.
5 climate scenarios across 3 time horizons – Utilising UKCP18 climate data to produce scenarios for present day, 2030, 2050 and 2070.
Fluvial, pluvial & coastal – Assess the impact of multiple flood types.
Terrain data – Incorporates the latest LiDAR data, in addition to other terrain and hydrography datasets.
Defences – Unique detection algorithm that identifies flood defences where data are not available.
About the model and validation Created by some of the world’s leading academics and scientists in climate risk and hydrology, Fathom’s UK Flood Map is based on pioneering methods developed in-house
Underpinned by decades of peer-reviewed research, our model couples decades of scientific research with the latest hydraulic modelling techniques.
The result is accurate flood hazard data that can provide high-resolution predictions for current and future climate scenarios – a first for flood modelling in the UK.
By integrating these datasets into Fathom’s hydraulic modelling framework, Fathom-UK yields flood hazard maps of multiple return periods for every river in the country.
We have achieved this through Fathom’s unique channel estimation methods, which explicitly represent river channels in the absence of accurate hydrographic information.
When incorporated alongside precise terrain data, multiple perils and defence algorithms, users are presented with accurate and realistic flood inundation patterns.
Pluvial flood For pluvial perils, Fathom’s UK Flood Map accounts for drainage systems, flash flooding and infiltration across a variety of terrain
Flooding simulated for even the smallest flow pathways.
Extreme precipitation magnitudes using data from UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH).
Channel drainage is explicitly represented.
Fluvial flood When modelling fluvial, Fathom-UK accurately represents extreme river flows at any point for every UK river.
Flows based on the entire NRFA gauge record.
Multiple return periods.
Comprehensive defence representation.
Coastal flood We account for multiple coastal scenarios including sea level rise, high tides and storm surge.
100% coverage of the United Kingdom’s coast.
Extreme water level scenarios taken from the Environment Agency
Tide gauge data and wave setup estimates based on ECMWF.
01 Climate change is altering the way that we experience events
The UK Flood Map helps to quantify UK flood risk and asset exposure for 5 climate scenarios, across 3 time horizons. This is the first flood model in the UK to factor in the impact of climate change, rather than just relying solely on historic records. By doing so, Fathom takes the UK’s understanding of flood risk one step further and supports users to understand how risk will change over time.
With new regulations requiring insurers, corporations, and risk managers to understand flood risk in the future better, our model provides accurate predictions for pluvial, fluvial, and coastal perils. Fathom-UK’s inclusion of 10 return periods means users have access to a comprehensive collection of event frequencies.
The hydraulic model projects changing flood behaviour arising from UKCP18.
Model validation Fathom-UK is validated against EA, Northern Ireland EA, Scottish Environment Protection Agency, and Natural Resources Wales flood data
Relevant research
Assessing flooding impact to riverine bridges: an integrated analysis
A simple inertial formulation of the shallow water equations for efficient two dimensional flood inundation modelling
Distributed whole city water level measurements from the Carlisle 2005 urban flood event and comparison with hydraulic model simulations
Evaluating the effect of scale in flood inundation modelling in urban environments
Reach scale floodplain inundation dynamics observed using airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar imagery: data analysis and modelling
An initial comparison of two 2-D finite element codes for river flood simulation
