Storm Bert

Sally Davies, Duty Tactical Manager Wales at NRW said:

“Flooding can be devastating, and our thoughts are with those impacted by the heavy rainfall triggered by Storm Bert over the weekend.

“In the lead up to any significant rainfall event, we engage with our colleagues at the Met Office and the Flood Forecasting Centre (FFC), and use the modelling and forecasts available to us to ensure our teams are prepared and ready to respond. We also worked closely with local authorities and other partners where appropriate to ensure preparations were put in place to reduce the risk to people and communities across Wales. We also ensured messages around the potential flood risk were shared with those living in at risk areas.

“The amount of rainfall that fell across South Wales was significant. We issued a flood alert for the Taff at Pontypridd on Saturday giving people advance warning that flooding was possible. During early Sunday morning, a very intense, localised area of rain fell in the Taff catchment, with up to 160mm recorded at some locations, exceeding the initial rainfall estimates for this event.

“The intensity and duration of the rainfall on saturated ground in steep-sided valleys like we have in this area means that river levels rise incredibly quickly. The River Taff rose 300mm every 15 minutes at the height of the rainfall. A flood warning was issued for the River Taff at Pontypridd at 7:41am when the river reached the flood warning trigger level. 

“Our teams worked around the clock, working with emergency services to respond to this significant incident. As we do with every significant flood event, we will now review the response as we enter the recovery phase. 

“We know that any flooding to homes and businesses is devastating, and many of those that were impacted yesterday were also impacted during the February 2020 storms. We have worked with Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council (RCTCBC) to roll out individual property protection to many hundreds of homes at higher risk of flooding in this area. 

“We are working closely with the local authority to review the flood risk in many of the area across the Taff catchment (including Pontypridd), to inform our long-term flood risk management plans.

“But there is no silver bullet. As a steep, and fast responding catchment, with much of the floodplain already built upon, reducing the flood risk is not at all straightforward. Taking an ad-hoc approach to reduce the risk in one community will likely increase the flood risk in another community. The intended outcome will be a comprehensive programme of proposed catchment scale interrelated projects to be delivered collectively by the Flood Risk Management Authorities.

“Climate change is greatly increasing the flood risks we face. We will continue to work with RCTCBC, like we do in other communities across Wales, to plan for the future and to help mitigate and adapt to these risks. 

“But we cannot stop all flooding. Adaptation to growing flood risk and learning to live better and recover more quickly from flooding will be absolutely key in the coming decades.”