Latest updates

The Environment Agency Flood Alert is still in place but river levels in the Thames, Evenlode, Cherwell and Seacourt/Hinksey Stream are now on the way down. Thankfully it looks like we're heading in to a relatively dry period over Christmas

The ground is saturated and river levels high, so any substantial rainfall event is likely to result in the Environment Agency issuing Flood Alerts. The Upper Thames, Evenlode and Cherwell rivers have now flood alerts in place as does the River Thames and tributaries in the Oxford area. SOFLAG will continue to keep an eye on river levels and will let local residents know if the EA issues a Flood Warning for our area.

The Environment Agency issued a Flood Alert for the River Thames and its tributaries within the Oxford area on the evening of 10 Dec 2025. The levels in the River Evenlode and River Cherwell that feed into the River Thames in the Oxford area appear to be close to their peak and should start to fall over the coming hours. However, the level in the River Thames upstream of Oxford is still rising. SOFLAG will keep an eye on these and on local river levels over the coming days.

The EA sent out a flood alert this afternoon for the River Cherwell for Lower Heyford down to the Oxford. The Cherwell river level at Banbury is on the way down; it is about to reach the maximum of the normal range at Thrupp, so there could be local low-lying flooding; at the River Cherwell level station at the Botanical Gardens it is well within normal range. The Thames upstream of Eynsham appears to have already peaked within normal levels. The River Evenlode at Cassington is above the maximum normal level but also seems to have peaked. The Seacourt Stream at the Minns Estate is rising slightly but still well within the normal range and the Hinksey Stream level at Cold Harbour is steady. No flood alerts for South Oxford but we'll keep an eye out for any significant changes in levels.

There are flood alerts on lots of the tributaries of the Thames but none on the Thames itself within or upstream of Oxford. The EA's live river level data show the Thames and the Hinksey Stream within the normal range, however, we will continue to keep and eye on things.

you can keep up-to-date with what is happening in Oxford via the Oxford Mail live updates page

SOFLAG is now getting flood information from Oxford City Council to pass on to local residents. Storm Claudia is making its way to the UK and the EA has issued flood alerts overnight for the River Evenlode and the upper reaches of the River Cherwell. As the EA says there is a fair amount of capacity in rivers, streams and ground they do not seem concerned about South Oxford at the moment but SOFLAG will keep an eye on this. There are no flood alerts at present on the River Thames

the new South Oxford Flood Action Group web site has now been published. This has all the content of the old web site but the structure has been changed to make it ready to show flood data from our new water level monitoring network, once the monitoring infrastructure is in place