About our services
Source: gov.uk (2025-04-10)


The Flood Guidance Statement

Overview

The Flood Guidance Statement (FGS) is a 5-day risk-based product for England and Wales. It:
- is produced by the Flood Forecasting Centre (FFC)
- shows the forecast level of flood risk for the coming 5 days for surface water, river, groundwater and coastal flooding
- uses a detailed risk matrix approach, based on a combination of likelihoods and impacts
- forecasts at a local authority scale
- provides a summary forecast for the 6 to 10 day period where necessary
Further information can be found in the Flood Guidance Statement user guide (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/flood-guidance-statement-fgs-user-guide/flood-guidance-statement-user-guide).

Rapid Flood Guidance service

Following a successful trial in 2024 (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/results-of-the-rapid-flood-guidance-service-2024-trial), the Rapid Flood Guidance (RFG) service will return for summer 2025 (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/rapid-flood-guidance-2025-service-get-ready-now).

The 2025 service will run between 2 June and 17 October 2025.

As in 2024, the 2025 service will provide:
- an advisory badge on the front page of the FGS for days when there is a heightened risk of rapid flooding
- RFG updates - issued on heightened risk days
If you signed up to receive the Rapid Flood Guidance in 2024, you will remain registered for the 2025 service.

Further information can be found in the Rapid Flood Guidance service user guide (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/rapid-flood-guidance-service-trial-user-guide).

FGS users

The FGS provides a daily flood risk forecast to assist with strategic, tactical and operational planning decisions for:
- the UK and Welsh governments
- Category 1 and 2 responders (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/preparation-and-planning-for-emergencies-responsibilities-of-responder-agencies-and-others)
- other organisations involved in emergency and flood response
Signing up for the FGS

You can sign up to receive the FGS:
- digitally, through the Met Office’s Hazard Manager (https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/services/government/environmental-hazard-resilience/access)
- by email from the FFC (https://www.ffc-environment-agency.fgs.metoffice.gov.uk/services/customers/new)
The FGS is also:
- posted on ResilienceDirect (https://www.resilience.gov.uk/) as a PDF when the overall flood risk is coloured yellow or above
- available through an Application Programming Interface (#API)
FGS on Hazard Manager

Signing up for the FGS through Hazard Manager (https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/services/government/environmental-hazard-resilience/access) allows you to:
- view the FGS clearly on computer, tablet or mobile
- view county and risk areas maps interactively
- use other features, such as filtering by flood source or setting your personalized map views
- access the PDF version if required
- access Met Office weather and warnings, other hazard advice and services in one portal
User guides and videos to help you get started on Hazard Manager are available at the Hazard Manager Help Centre (https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/services/government/environmental-hazard-resilience/help-centre)

FGS by email

Signing up for the FGS by email (https://www.ffc-environment-agency.fgs.metoffice.gov.uk/services/customers/new) allows you to:
- receive the FGS as a PDF each day into your inbox
- select which local authority areas you are interested in
- select whether you wish to receive the FGS at different flood risk levels - we advise signing up for all risk levels so you receive all the information available in the lead up to any floods
- sign up for the FGS text message service
Personal information for Hazard Manager and email users is managed in line with the Met Office privacy policy (https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/about-us/legal/privacy).

ResilienceDirect

The FGS can be downloaded in PDF version from ResilienceDirect (https://www.resilience.gov.uk/).

If you have a Resilience Direct account, the FGS can be viewed on the Flood Forecasting Centre group page.

Currently, the FGS is uploaded to Resilience Direct:
- when the overall flood risk is coloured yellow or above
- some time after the FFC issue time – to get the FGS and updates as soon as they are issued, we recommend using the Hazard Manager or email options
Application Programming Interface (API) for developers

The FGS is available as Open Data through an API.

All parts of the FGS are available in a digital format, including:
- thumbnail maps
- trends
- text
- flood risk areas
- public 5-day flood risk forecast
For more information contact xxx@xxx.xx (mailto:xxx@xxx.xx).

The Flood Outlook

Overview

The Flood Outlook is for planners who need to make decisions at a timescale of 6 to 30 days. It:
- provides flood likelihood guidance for the coming month in England and Wales
- is issued twice a month
Signing up for the Flood Outlook

You can sign up to receive the Flood Outlook:
- through the Met Office’s Hazard Manager (https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/services/government/environmental-hazard-resilience/access) – if you receive the FGS on Hazard Manager you will automatically have access to the Flood Outlook
- on ResilienceDirect (https://www.resilience.gov.uk/)
Access to Flood Outlook through Hazard Manager

Signing up for the Flood Outlook through Hazard Manager (https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/services/government/environmental-hazard-resilience/access) allows you to:

download a PDF version

access the link to the video briefing

access the Flood Outlook from the same portal as the FGS and Met Office services

Access to the Flood Outlook through ResilienceDirect

Signing up for the Flood Outlook through ResilienceDirect (https://www.resilience.gov.uk/) allows you to:
- download the most recent Flood Outlook and video briefing from the group page
- receive notifications when a new Flood Outlook is issued
- access archive copies of the Flood Outlook
To access the Flood Outlook service:
- log into your Resilience Direct account (or create a new account)
- sign up to the Flood Forecasting Centre – Flood Outlook group
You will need to have a Resilience Direct account through your own organisation. The FFC cannot approve new users to Resilience Direct.

Training videos for FFC services

FGS training videos

To help you understand the FGS ‘bite sized’ training videos are available (opens in Vimeo):
- introduction to the FGS (https://vimeo.com/789725631/f0f2108f24)
- introduction to the Flood Risk Matrix (https://vimeo.com/789743830/40dbde807c)
If you need further information on how the FGS is put together a more detailed video is available:
- uncertainties and challenges in forecasting for the FGS (https://youtu.be/BVjHB7lVlJA) (opens in YouTube)
Flood Outlook training videos

To help you understand the Flood Outlook ‘bite sized’ training videos are available (opens in Vimeo):
- an introduction to the Flood Outlook (https://vimeo.com/789724737/ab9a55a7c1)
- the Flood Outlook in action (https://vimeo.com/789724913/571dce4be7)
Other guidance and support for FFC services

FGS user guides

Further details on how to access and understand the FGS are in the:
- FGS user guide (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/flood-guidance-statement-fgs-user-guide/flood-guidance-statement-user-guide)
- Hazard Manager flood guidance user guide (https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/binaries/content/assets/metofficegovuk/pdf/services/government/hazard-manager-flood-guidance.pdf)
Webinars

We provide drop-in webinar sessions on the FGS and Flood Outlook from time to time. To find out more, contact us at xxx@xxx.xx (mailto:xxx@xxx.xx).

Training for your organisation

We can provide specific training and materials on FFC services for your organisation.

For more information contact xxx@xxx.xx (mailto:xxx@xxx.xx).

Public flood risk forecast

The Flood Forecasting Centre (FFC) assessment of flood risk is published as the 5-day flood risk summary and maps for England (https://check-for-flooding.service.gov.uk/) and Wales (https://naturalresources.wales/flooding/5-day-flood-forecast/?lang=en).

Flood alerts and warnings for your area

The Environment Agency is responsible for issuing flood alerts and warnings in England (https://check-for-flooding.service.gov.uk/start-page).

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) is responsible for issuing flood alerts and warnings in Wales (https://naturalresources.wales/flooding/check-flood-warnings/?lang=en).

The Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) is responsible for issuing flood alerts and warnings in Scotland (https://floodline.sepa.org.uk/floodupdates/).