Being able to receive warnings of flooding will give residents notice to prepare, act and survive should waters rise in the Devon town on the River Mardle or Dean Burn.
The new flood warning area covers 312 properties - of which 40% are at high risk of flooding.
Ben Johnstone of the Environment Agency said:
A lot of work goes on behind the scenes to add a new location to our flood warning network by installing sensors at the most appropriate locations and then monitoring them against incoming weather patterns.
But a flood warning network still needs people who are at flood risk to be resilient. Make a flood plan so when you get a flood warning, you know what to do.
Buckfastleigh has a history of bad flooding. Flooding in 1979 hit 74 properties. Then in 2012 there were two separate floods, water rising to 1.2m in places. A flood alleviation scheme was built in 1988. Then in 2016 improvements were made to raise walls by the River Mardle in two places. However, flood risk cannot be eliminated which is why the town joins the flood warning service.
