Gaeilge

About Flood Maps

Flood Maps

Flood Maps provide valuable information for a range of purposes. This includes increasing awareness among the general public, Local Authorities and other organisations, of the likelihood of flooding and informing flood risk management activities by the Government to prevent and reduce the risk and impact from future flooding.

The Flood Maps are not creating new flood risk, but they are, for the first time, setting out the extent of the exposure to flood risk in many communities, as part of the Government’s strategy to plan for the most effective schemes and solutions to manage this risk. Therefore, the Flood Maps may highlight areas at risk of flooding that have no past experience of flooding. This should not be interpreted to mean that the areas will flood, just that there is a chance that may flood in the future.

The OPW has assessed and mapped the flood extents, hazard and risk for a range of flood events from frequent, minor flood events up to very rare, extreme events.

Flood Hazard Maps describe the characteristics of the predicted flood for each scenario and include information such as flood extent, flood depth and level, and the flow of floodwater.

Flood Risk Maps describe the main adverse impacts of the predicted flood for each scenario. This includes the effects on people, the economy, important environmental areas and our cultural heritage.

A set of maps is available to view for each of the 300 communities assessed.

Note:
The purpose of the Flood Maps is not to designate individual properties at risk of flooding. They are community-based maps.
Read More

Flood Maps Viewer

The Flood Maps Viewer available on this website allows you to access flood mapping data through an interactive map search. This facility allows users to navigate to their location of interest by using the location/address search option or by simply zooming in. You can then select the dataset (layer) that you are interested in and access the maps that have been produced for that area.

Read More Go to Flood Maps Viewer

Predictive Flood Mapping

Predictive Flood Maps show the chances of different types of flood events that may occur in the future and their potential impact.

These Flood Maps show possible flooding from rivers (fluvial flooding) and from extreme sea levels (coastal flooding) for those river reaches, estuaries and coastlines that have been modelled in each of the 300 areas identified as being at potentially significant risk from flooding.

For certain areas (Raphoe, Co. Donegal and Dublin City), the risk from flooding due to intense rainfall (pluvial flooding) flowing through urban areas and ponding in hollows has also been deemed to be potentially significant. The OPW and Dublin City Council have produced pluvial Flood Maps for these areas.

Flood extents, hazard and risk for a range of flood events from frequent, minor flood events up to very rare, extreme events have been assessed and mapped.

View the Map User Guidance Notes that have been developed for the Detailed Flood Maps to provide users with a greater understanding of the map data.

Past Flood Events

This map data provides information about the location of known flood events in Ireland and shows supporting information in the form of reports, photos and press articles about those floods.

During 2004-2006, a significant data collection program was undertaken by the OPW to collect and collate a vast array of information about flooding. The type of information varied from photographs of flood events, to consultants' reports, press articles, recordings from gauging stations, eyewitness accounts from emergency response staff plus letters from members of the public and minutes of meetings with key officials. All this information was reviewed, verified, assessed and catalogued to create a National Flood Data Archive, from which ‘Flood Event’ records have been created.

Since 2006, as flood events occur or as information is submitted to the OPW from different sources, including information from the public, new records are being added to this dataset on an ongoing basis.

Data previously found on www.floodmaps.ie is now available on this website and can be viewed by turning on the “Past Flood Events” layer that enables this past flood event data to be viewed simultaneously with predictive flood mapping layers.

View the User Guidance Notes have been developed for Past Flood Event records to provide users with a greater understanding of the data.

Map Updates & Revisions

Predictive Flood Mapping

The Predictive Flood Maps have been developed from detailed engineering analysis and modelling. There is always some uncertainty with regard to the accuracy of predictive flood models; however, the detailed models used have been developed using the best available modelling techniques, tools and data at the time of production.

The OPW is committed to providing the best available flood risk information to as wide an audience as possible and therefore updates and revisions to flood maps will be prepared as appropriate.

We welcome feedback and comments on the Predictive Flood Maps, which can be submitted by using this Map Feedback Form.

Past Flood Events

The National Flood Data Archive, which provides all the information for Past Flood Event records, is continually being updated and added to by the OPW. Information on new and past flood events can be, and is, submitted from a variety of sources (government, private and individuals) for inclusion as it becomes available. All information is checked and classified first, then approved before it appears on the website.

We welcome information on recent or past flood events including supporting documentation, which can be submitted by using the Past Flood Event Feedback Form Past Flood Event Feedback Form.