Our economic research also finds that without decisive action, flooding will remain a significant economic harm, threatening prosperity and long-term growth. We find that flooding has significant immediate and long-term economic costs and undermines the government’s growth mission. At today’s current risk levels, for each year that flood events happen – of which there is an average of 700 recorded in England – the following losses occur:

• Immediate physical damage to property and infrastructure costs £2.4bn annually. These costs are also set to increase as flood risk rises. By 2050, we expect the immediate annual damages to increase to £3.6bn. This increase is based upon Environment Agency projections, which estimate a 27% increase in at-risk properties and as much as 47% increase for public infrastructure due to future changes in rainfall, river flows, high tides and wave conditions. It does not account for any additional development or new investment in flood protection.
• On average, workers are unable to reach their workplace for 10 days after a flood event, causing £290m in lost output annually. This is likely to be a conservative estimate, given that local disruption from flooding can also affect home-based working productivity, although to a less well-known extent.
• Each year of flood events causes a decade-long downward pressure on the economy worth at least £6.1bn. Further, flooding means employment is 46,000 lower than it would otherwise be. This is due to the ongoing loss of confidence caused by flooding events. This longer-term impact on business decisions is what should really concern policymakers.

Read the full report here

Full polling tables here and here

Quotes from steering committee members and stakeholders:

Emma Howard Boyd, Visiting Professor in Practice, Grantham Research Institute, London School of Economics and Political Science and former Chair of the Environment Agency, says: “The upcoming multi-year Spending Review is an opportunity for the government to protect communities from flooding where previous administrations fell short. The government’s £1.3bn commitment to March 2026 was welcome but still less than the £1.5 billion per year recommended in 2023. As floods get worse, there’s more damage to flood defences, so we need to see more investment to better protect communities and maintain existing defences.

“I have travelled the country and met people who have been flooded out of their family homes for months, sometimes for more than a year. I have felt their anger and sense of betrayal and seen the extraordinary generosity and community spirit of the British people. With floods getting worse every year, investing in climate resilience for the UK has never been more important.”

Mary Long-Dhonau OBE, Flood Mary, said: “Until you have experienced flooding, it is difficult to fully understand how appalling it is. The distress it causes families as homes fill with filthy stinking flood water, stopping normal life in an instant and destroying treasured memories, is overwhelming. Recently, I’ve been travelling to flood hit communities in the FloodPod, giving advice about how to prepare for and recover from flooding. The response has often been heartbreaking, people are often broken by the experience. Flooding is increasingly ruining lives in the UK, it’s time we prioritised sorting this out.”

Lord Toby Harris, Chair of the National Preparedness Commission, said: “Following the 1953 North Sea storm surge which cost over 300 lives, the Waverley Committee recommend a Thames Barrier and 30 years later, it was built. Last year, flooding in Valencia killed 224 people, over half of them aged over 70. The science is clear the UK is on borrowed time before we see similar fatalities. The challenge is that the costs of failing to act look very different before and after disasters of this kind. Investing in preparedness is essential.”

Baroness Brown of Cambridge, Chair of the Climate Change Committee’s Adaptation Committee, said: “In 25 years’ time, 1 in 4 properties in England will be in areas at risk of flooding from rivers, the sea or surface water. 25 years is the typical duration of a mortgage. Investing in climate resilience is urgent if we are to reduce the level of risk for these households and communities.”

Harry Bowell, Director of Land and Nature, National Trust, said: “The UK has a long history of flooding but climate change means that storms are getting worse and happening more frequently. This threatens places that weren’t built with current extremes in mind and means we need to adapt to stay ahead. For example in the Calder Valley, National Trust rangers have been working with the community to create 100s of metres of stuffed gullies, placing logs along hill contours and creating flood storage ponds to slow the flow of water entering the river system. We have dozens of projects of this kind underway. We need to see action at scale so I’m pleased to see this report emphasise the importance of investment in cost-effective natural flood management alongside maintenance for the country’s existing flood defences.”

Professor Denise Bower, Group External Engagement Director, Mott MacDonald, said: “Everyone can see that intense rainfall and more flooding are becoming more and more common as our climate changes. Against this backdrop this report represents a very timely call for action. Making sure that the Government and others recognise and take full account in their decision-making of our changing climate, and in particular that they ensure that all key parties are enabled to play their part in ensuring our infrastructure is fully resilient, is a national imperative.”

Bevis Watts, CEO of Triodos Bank UK, said: “The government’s first mission is to kickstart economic growth. Facilitating more investment in nature based solutions to flooding should not only be seen as fundamental to our economic resilience and safeguarding public health but also as a new growth area of our economy.  Emma Howard Boyd and Public First have added another layer of evidence to support the case for greater investment in flood resilience. This is a critical time as the Chancellor is about to set spending levels for the next four years.”

Professor Anusha Shah, the senior director of resilient cities at Arcadis and immediate past President of the Institution of Civil Engineers, said: “Flooding can severely hamper day to day life, making it more difficult to get to hospital, work and school. Electricity can be cut off and communications are reduced, making connection with the wider world more difficult when people need it most.  It can also lead to damaged infrastructure, habitat destruction, water and soil pollution, increased spending and debt to deal with flood recovery, damage to industries that depend on natural resources, loss of workforce in affected areas, impact productivity, increase health costs,  impact supply chain and global trade – all contributing to economic stagnation or de growth. As this report shows, if government invests in flood protection, they are building much more than a wall or a wetland. They are ensuring that a local economy and nature will keep thriving when life would otherwise grind to a halt.”

Dr Ashok Sinha, CEO of Ashden, said: “Climate change isn’t just a global issue—it’s a local crisis. UK Councils see it firsthand: wetter winters eroding infrastructure, relentless floods devastating communities, and rising temperatures straining public health and the NHS. Ashden’s UK Climate Adaptation Network helps councils take action, no matter their size or resources. That’s why I welcome this report’s call for devolution and statutory duties—because local leaders need the power to work with and, protect their communities.”

Kathryn Brown OBE, Director of Climate Change and Evidence at The Wildlife Trusts, said: “Millions of people across the UK are already vulnerable to the devastating impacts of flooding and the risk is getting worse with climate change. We need every tool in the toolbox to manage this increasing risk, from better maintained flood defences to natural flood management. Today’s report shows that managing flood risk is an economic, social, political and environmental opportunity. The Government should grab it with both hands in the upcoming spending review.”