New research reveals Cardiff faces greatest risk of flooding due to the climate crisis in the UK

Cardiff is the local authority most at risk of flooding due to the current climate crisis, according to new research.

Two other areas in Wales, Neath Port Talbot and Rhondda Cynon Taf, also feature in the 10 most vulnerable areas in the UK, according to data shared exclusively with The Independent.

The new research by Fathom, a Bristol-based flood-mapping business, claims to be the first model to use climate crisis data to predict which areas will be the most at risk of flooding due to rivers or heavy rainfall by 2050.

The company’s data calculates that by 2050 the number of properties vulnerable to non-coastal flooding will increase by close to 25%.

The new research finds that while there are around 1.09 million properties across Great Britain currently at risk of flooding, by mid-century this will rise to 1.35 million, an increase of nearly 25 per cent.

Fathom’s model defines risk as having a greater than 1 per cent chance of non-coastal flooding in any given year, a standard measure, according to the company.

Denbighshire

Since the list was last updated in 2020, Denbighshire has dropped out of the top ten to be replaced by Clackmannanshire in Scotland.

The most at risk local authorities highlighted in the new report are

“If you look at the places in Great Britain that are mostly at risk, South Wales and places along major rivers are most noticeable, but flood risk is everywhere and depends strongly on local geography,” Professor Paul Bates, Chair of Hydrology at the University of Bristol and co-founder of Fathom told the Independent.

Highlighting the increased risk in Neath Port Talbot, he said and this is because of the number of properties in the region currently just on the edge of flood risk zones that will be brought into the flood plain by the climate crisis.