Flood and Erosion Mapping

Information on flood event causes, mechanisms and impacts:

• is a key contributor to the understanding and management of flood risk
• helps to inform future planning and development
• can assist emergency response preparation

The EU ‘Floods’ Directive (2007/60/EC) and S.I. No. 122 of 2010 that transposed the Directive into Irish law set out certain requirements for flood risk assessment and management in Ireland. The collection and recording of information on flood events and their adverse impacts on human health, the environment, cultural heritage and economic activity are requirements of the Directive. Public authorities in Ireland will need to assist in this duty to collect the relevant information and to submit it to the OPW which is the competent authority under the Directive.

The OPW has prepared a guide to flood data collection 'Flood Data Collector's Handbook', to set standards for flood event data collection with the objective that flood event data is collected effectively in a safe environment. The primary audience of the handbook is Local Authority staff and consulting engineers who collect flood event data as part of their professional duties and responsibilities. While the guide may also be of interest to members of the public, the OPW does not advise or encourage members of the public to visit flood event locations for the purpose of recording flood event data.

Further information on flood event data collection.

The website floodinfo.ie contains information on recorded flood events in Ireland. You can search for recorded floods by location, either by using a map or by searching for a town or townland, grid reference or river. An advanced search tool allows you to refine your search by date and quality of information. You can use "Layer Control" to add additional data e.g. the land drained by OPW Drainage Schemes carried out under the Arterial Drainage Acts, 1945 and 1995, Drainage Districts carried out under previous acts (1844, 1863, 1925, 1928 etc.), land protected by embankments that were divided by the Land Commission, rivers, lakes and the location of hydrometric gauges.

The Irish Coastal Protection Strategy Study (ICPSS) is a national study that was commissioned in 2003 with the objective of providing information to support decision making about how best to manage risks associated with coastal flooding and coastal erosion. The Study was completed in 2013 and provides strategic current scenario and future scenario (up to 2100) coastal flood hazard maps and strategic coastal erosion maps for the national coastline. This major study provides invaluable and essential information required to inform policy in this area, particularly for local authorities in relation to the proper planning and development of coastal areas.