Flood Risk Assessment (FRA)

In the UK Flood Risk Assessments (FRA) are usually performed by civil engineering consultants and can cover single buildings or large areas. In England and Wales, the Environment Agency requires them to be submitted with any planning applications that are in areas known to be in flood risk areas.
An FRA will begin with the data collection, examining any information on rainfall, ground water levels and water flow through the area as well as historical data such as previous flooding events and figures relevant to these events. Topographical and land use data will also be assessed.
Once the data has been gathered, modelling can take place, simulating various potential flooding scenarios and looking at which areas will be more prone to flooding and to what degree and what frequency. Risk assessments consider the impact to assets, human life, infrastructure, and everything else that could be of relevance to a particular site whilst costs and mitigation strategies round out the full range of information collated for consideration.