UKCEH plays a vital role in providing information, advice and analysis to help stakeholders prepare for, respond to and review natural hazards such as floods, droughts and extreme weather events.

This includes:

  • Developing physical and statistical models to better quantify the current and future risks from extreme  rainfall and floods at multiple temporal and spatial scales.
  • Improving understanding of the processes driving the onset, development and termination of droughts and  their impacts, and enhancing prediction systems.
  • Enhancing modelling tools and techniques to forecast river flows including real-time and seasonal flood forecasting.
  • Advancing our understanding of the interdependence of hazards and enhancing integrated risk assessments.

In the UK, we participate in the Natural Hazards Partnership, which provides advice to the UK Government on these and other hazards.

Case study: Surface Water Flooding Hazard Impact Model

Cyclists competing during rain

Our scientists received a Royal Meteorological Society Innovation Award in 2018 for their work on a Surface Water  Flooding Hazard Impact Model. In collaboration with the Met Office, the James Hutton Institute and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, they created a novel real-time system for forecasting surface water flooding and its potential impact.

The system was piloted by the Scottish Flood Forecasting Service during the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, and found to be valuable in alerting the Games organisers and emergency responders to the localised flooding events that occurred during the Games.

The approach is now in national operational use by the Flood Forecasting Centre.