Coastal Flood Maps: UK Flood Extent and Depth for Multiple Return Periods

Scottish Government coastal flood hazard maps show flood extent and depth for high (10-year), medium (200-year), and low (1000-year) probability events. The dataset includes a climate change scenario based on UKCP09 high emissions predictions for the 2080s. The maps are produced by the Scottish Government and were last updated in July 2026.

Use Cases

• Assess coastal flood risk for infrastructure planning based on the 10-year, 200-year, and 1000-year return period maps.
• Model long-term climate change impacts on coastal flooding using the UKCP09 2080s high emissions scenario.
• Inform Scottish planning policy by aligning with the return periods specified in Scottish Planning Policy.
• Visualize potential flood inundation areas and depths for emergency response planning.

Strengths

• Includes three distinct flood probability scenarios (10-year, 200-year, 1000-year return periods) for comparative analysis.
• Integrates a specific climate change projection (UKCP09 high emissions 95%ile for the 2080s) for future risk assessment.
• Maps show both flood extent and depth where appropriate, providing two key hazard metrics.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and file size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic bias inherent to its focus on the UK.

Provenance

Source

Scottish Government SpatialData.gov.scot

Collection Method

Likely derived from hydrological modeling and climate projections.

Time Range

Climate change scenario targets the 2080s; base return periods are not time-bound.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-07-08 13:31:55.348681; freshness should be verified.

Geography

United Kingdom, with a focus on Scotland.