18 December 2020

Wales battered by heavy rain with flooding ‘likely’

18 December 2020

Flood warnings remain in place in parts of Wales as much of the country continues to be battered by heavy showers.

An amber weather warning for rain has been issued by the Met Office for most of South Wales, which it says will “likely” lead to homes and businesses being flooded and communities cut off by flooded roads.

The warnings cover Blaenau Gwent, Bridgend, Caerphilly, Cardiff, Carmarthenshire, Merthyr Tydfil, Monmouthshire, Neath Port Talbot, Newport, Powys, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Swansea and Torfaen until midnight.

A yellow weather warning for rain is also in place for large parts of North, Mid, West, and South Wales which could also lead to flooding and is expected to last until 3am on Saturday.

On Friday evening, Natural Resources Wales (NRW) had nine flood warnings, where “flooding is expected”, issued for rivers in the west of the country, while 42 flood alerts were in place across the whole of the country where “flooding is possible”.

WEATHER Rain (PA Graphics)

Some fields near the River Towy in West Wales were flooded with a couple of feet of water after the river burst its banks earlier on Friday, with only reports of surface water elsewhere in other areas of the country by the evening.

Train services between Aberdare and Fernhill were suspended due to water on the tracks, while the service between Pembroke Dock and Whitland was briefly paused.

Sean Moore, duty tactical manager for NRW, said: “The band of heavy rain spreading across parts of Wales on Friday and into Saturday is expected to bring flooding impacts and disruption to many areas of South and Mid Wales.

“We have teams out checking defences and monitoring river levels alongside Met Office advice to forecast flood risk, and we will update our flood alerts and warnings as appropriate.

“We are urging people to keep a close eye on weather reports and on the NRW website for details on any potential impacts in their areas. We’re also advising to take extra care when travelling as conditions could be hazardous.”

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