The statistical properties of the radial propagation of edge localized modes (ELMs) have been investigated in the Scrape-off layer (SOL) region of the JET tokamak. ELM events propagate radially with effective radial velocities in the range of 1000 m s−1. Experimental results show a link between the radial velocity and the size of transport events. This suggests the importance of the competition between both parallel and radial transport to explain particle losses onto the divertor plates. Parallel flows show a transient increase during the appearance of ELMs, providing evidence of a coupling between parallel dynamics and radial transport.