Rapid Flood Guidance Service 2025: User Guide

Guidance

Rapid Flood Guidance service 2025: user guide

Find out how to sign up, use and understand the Rapid Flood Guidance service.

From: Flood Forecasting Centre Published 16 April 2024 Last updated 10 April 2025
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Applies to England and Wales

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Overview

The Rapid Flood Guidance (RFG) service:

• is provided by the Flood Forecasting Centre
• gives short notice updates for England and Wales to supplement the Flood Guidance Statement (FGS)
• is for responders who need to make decisions at a timescale of 0 to 3 hours
• meets a need from the responder community which was not being met with current FFC products Following a successful trial in 2024, the RFG service will return for summer 2025.

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

Sign up now or amend your preferences through your Flood Guidance Statement account.

Improvements for the 2025 service

The 2025 service will include improvements based on user feedback from the trial.  These include:

• the ability to sign up to receive the RFG for local authority areas (rather than regions) – providing a more tailored service
• clearer mapping – so that the location of the risk area can be more easily identified
• more consistent written content – improving clarity
• amendments to the threshold for RFG issue – meaning that there will be fewer RFGs when there are no or minor impacts
• faster production – so that there is more time to respond
• a more reliable SMS service – ensuring the RFG is available on all mobile devices

Definition of rapid flooding

For the purposes of the RFG, rapid flooding is defined as any flooding:

• that starts within 3 hours of rain
• is caused by water getting trapped in urban low spots, overflowing drains, and flow from small streams and rivers

Rapid Flood Guidance service outline

The RFG:

• should be read in conjunction with the FGS

• does not replace the FGS
  The RFG service provides:

• an advisory badge on the front page of the FGS for days when there is a heightened risk of rapid flooding - this will be available to all FGS users

• Rapid Flood Guidance updates that will be issued on heightened risk days - you will need to sign up to receive this
  The RFG:

• will be updated during the day when additional information on development of weather features that could result in rapid flooding become available

• provides information at a smaller scale than the FGS
  The RFG does not give:

• information about specific rivers or local features

• guidance on what actions to take

• information to the public

Signing up for Rapid Flood Guidance

If you signed up for the 2024 trial, you will automatically be registered for the:

• 2025 service
• the local authority areas relating to the regions you were signed up for in 2024 We advise you to check and amend your preferences if necessary.

Check and amend your preferences through your Flood Guidance Statement account

If you are a new user, you can sign up now to:

• receive the RFG by Email and text message (optional)
• set your preferences so you get RFGs that are relevant to you Sign up now through your Flood Guidance Statement account.

The RFG can also be accessed (without email or text notifications) through the Met Office’s Hazard Manager.

Personal information for all users is managed in line with the Met Office privacy policy.

Rapid Flood Guidance product by email and text

Signing up for the RFG by email allows you to:

• receive the RFG updates as a PDF into your inbox as soon as they are issued
• select which local authority areas in England and Wales you are interested in
• opt into for the RFG text message service – this will send a notification and link to your mobile device each time the guidance is updated You will need to sign up to receive the RFG by Email, even if you are already signed up for the FGS.

Sign up now through your Flood Guidance Statement account.

Rapid Flood Guidance on Hazard Manager

If you already have access to the FGS on Hazard Manager, you will be able to download the RFG as a PDF without further signup.

This is done from the RFG icon on the left-hand menu bar.

Hazard Manager does not provide email or text notifications.

Providing feedback

We welcome your views on the service at any time it is running.

By signing up to the RFG we may invite you to provide feedback (on a voluntary basis) which will be used to:

• assess the value of the RFG
• make recommendations for the future of the service

Training and support for the Rapid Flood Guidance service

As well as this user guide, other support to help you understand the RFG service includes:

• drop in webinars – details will be sent to signed up users in advance of the launch date
• bespoke training for your organisation For more information on how we can help your organisation contact FFCenquiries@environment-agency.gov.uk.

To discuss the content of the RFG you should contact the FFC directly on 0330 135 4400.

Environment Agency local incident teams will not have any additional information relating to the Rapid Flood Guidance.

The FFC operates a 365 day, 24 hour service.

Amendments to the FGS as part of the Rapid Flood Guidance service

During the RFG service period, the FGS will have:

• a new advisory badge on the front page for days when there is a heightened risk of rapid flooding
  This will be shown under the thumbnail maps on the:

• FGS email

• FGS PDF
  Figure 1 shows an example of an exercise FGS with the RFG badge added to the headline maps for days 1 and 2 (Monday and Tuesday).

The badge is not currently available on the Hazard Manager version of the FGS.

Rapid Flood Guidance product features

Figure 2 shows the front page of an exercise RFG product including:

• header
• definition bar
• flood summary bar
• latest update, with map and text
• footer with useful links and page number

Header

At the top, shows the issue date and issue time.

Due to the nature of the product, it is not possible to show the next issue time.

The RFG status is shown under the issue time. This is blank apart from:

• when no further updates are expected for the day (status - Final update)
• a correction (status - Correction)
• an RFG test (status - Test)
• an RFG exercise (status - Exercise)

Definition bar

Under the header, contains a definition of rapid flooding used by the service.

Flood summary bar

Under the definition bar, the headline bar contains:

• the heading ‘National rapid flood summary’
• a summary (headline) statement describing all areas of rapid flood risk, rain, and, where relevant, how they are developing - there will be a new statement for each update
• a thumbnail map showing the national overview of locations where rapid flood guidance has been issued during the day - these locations will be identified by a numbered, purple polygon surrounded by a dashed line

Latest update

The latest rapid flood update will appear at the top of the feed in a bold box with the title ‘Latest update’.

Other current updates

When a new update is issued, previous updates move down the page and are shown under ‘Other current updates.’

Other current updates only describe active events (areas of rain that continue to pose a flood risk).

Expired events (areas of rain that have eased or stopped) are removed from the page.

Update heading

Each update has a heading which includes:

• polygon number
• the time and date the update was issued When a polygon area changes (because rain has spread or moved) the polygon that it replaces will be identified in this heading.

Example

The first update would have the heading:

At 09:00hrs there is an area of heavy rain affecting the east of the Midlands (polygon 1).

Then at 10:00hrs when this area of rain has moved the next update would have the heading:

Polygon 1 - (replaces the 09:00hrs update). Updated at 10:00hrs 23 Feb 2024.

Update map

The update map shows:

• a shaded polygon showing where there is potential for rapid flooding now or in the update period
• arrows showing the direction of movement or spreading of the rainfall

Update text

The map is supplemented with text on the right-hand side which gives details about:

• how areas of rain have developed or changed since the previous update
• a description of what is happening now
• an estimation and likelihood of rainfall depth, and the flood risk this poses - FGS descriptions of either minor, significant or severe flooding are given
• details of any relevant UK weather warnings in force
• the type(s) of area(s) that could be affected

Useful links

At the bottom of the updates, you can find links to the:

• feedback form
• RFG service user guide
• Hazard Manager
• latest FGS
• flood warnings in England
• flood warnings in Wales

Footer

At the bottom of each page there is:

• a brief product description
• contact details for the duty hydrometeorologist

Roles and Responsibilities

The RFG service does not:

• alter any of the existing responsibilities for managing surface water flooding
• change the way the Environment Agency responds to surface water flooding incidents

Further Information

The RFG service gives short notice updates for England and Wales to supplement the FGS.

More information on the FGS, including a glossary can be found in the FGS user guide.

Published 16 April 2024 Last updated 10 April 2025 show all updates
1.
10 April 2025

The user guide revised in advance of the 2025 Rapid Flood Guidance service.

Overview section - dates for 2025 service included.

New section on improvements for the 2025 service.

Definition of rapid flooding section - definition revised.

Signing up for Rapid Flood Guidance section - sign up and change of preference details updated.

Rapid Flood Guidance product features section - Headline bar renamed Flood summary bar.

Minor edits to improve clarity of the user guide.
2.
16 April 2024

First published.
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