FLASH FLOODS BRING CHAOS
CARS LEFT TRAPPED AND ROADS ARE CLOSED AFTER HEAVY RAIN – WITH WEATHER WARNING OF MORE TO COME THIS WEEK
FLASH flooding caused chaos yesterday with roads closed and cars and vans left submerged in water.
In Peterson-super-Ely in Vale of Glamorgan, one man used a canoe to make his way along the road.
The Sportsmans Rest pub was forced to close because of flooding.
But the community spirit in the village ensured it will get back to normal sooner rather than later.
“There was an alert at around 4am this morning and in the hours that followed a number of locals sprung into action to help,” said Claire Lewis, who has lived in Peterstonsuper-Ely her whole life.
“People moved furniture around, while others helped to move cars from the car park to get ready for the worst of it.
“By 8am, the bar and restaurant were two feet under water. Some people couldn’t even get into the pub to help by that stage because the landlord wouldn’t open the door to let them in for fear that more water would stream in.”
The landlord himself was too exhausted to talk about the ordeal, having been working for the past 12 hours or so trying to prevent further damage to the pub.
Claire said: “This is the fifth time this has happened in Peterstonsuper-Ely in the past 14 years.
“But the landlord said this is the worst it’s been.”
The loss of Sunday trade is bound to be a blow to any pub, especially on a day that started with a pulsating Rugby World Cup win for Wales, but the Sportmans Rest is hoping to be back open very soon.
Claire added: “Once the river is breached the water just comes in so quickly, but we’re all still here tidying up, and hopefully the pub can get back to normal and open again in a few days’ time.”
In a video shot in Peterson-superEly in Vale a man wearing a cowboy hat can be seen paddling his green canoe down the the road near The Sportsmans Rest, gilding past a row of hedges and a white 4x4 car that are submerged in water.
The footage was filmed by Tomas Jackson, founder of Anchor House Brewery.
Tomas said: “It was just funny. I saw him this morning, he was going up and down in his canoe warning people not to drive down the road.
“As you can see it was completely flooded. The water was halfway up the bus stop, so probably about waist hight.
“I thought it was ironic how the £100 canoe is going past the £100,000 Range Rover that’s stuck and is clearly the better option.”
While sailing past, the man in the boat shouts: “Taxi!” before continuing to canoe down the road.
In Cardiff, Aquabus Cardiff Bay cancelled its tours yesterday. Staff were unable to get along the walkway to get to the boats.
In Caerphilly, a car was seen fully submerged in water on the A4263.
A number of other roads were closed due to flooding.
At one stage yesterday, there were 175 alerts for possible flooding across Britain.
Road closures yesterday included ■ A4059 closed in both directions between Mountain Ash (Mountain Ash) and A472 (AberCynon Roundabout, Rhondda Cynon Taff).
■ A4109 closed due to flooding between Aberdulais and Crynant. Police reported several abandoned cars along this stretch.
Most of the roads were reopened later on Sunday, but police reiterated their general warning for drivers to take care.
Sennybridge saw the highest rainfall, with 53.8mm falling in 24 hours.
And the Met Office yesterday posted two further yellow rain alert warnings for most of Wales for today and tomorrow.
There were warnings of delays to public transport.
Natural Resources Wales (NRW) urged people all over Wales to be vigilant. A spokesman for NRW said that heavy rain and high tides would continue to pose a risk of inland and coastal flooding with another intense band of rain forecast for today.
The weekend weather at its peak led to the issuing of 18 flood warnings and more than 40 flood alerts across Wales.
A spokesman for NRW said: “All of Wales has seen the effects and emergency response workers from NRW are at key sites checking defences are in good working order and making sure any drainage grids and screens are clear, to reduce the risk to people and their homes.
“The recent weather has led to many flood warnings being issued and reports of some flooding caused by surface water.
“The high tides continue to cause concern along the coast . . . but with the forecast rain it is important to remember there remains a risk of inland flooding from rivers and surface water.
“We are working alongside our partners from the emergency services and local authorities to minimise the risk to communities.
“We want people to be aware that flood water can be extremely dangerous, and people should not attempt to walk or drive through it unless instructed by the emergency services.”
Flood alerts and flood warnings are updated on the Natural Resources Wales website every 15 minutes.
Information and updates are also available by calling Floodline on 0345 988 1188.
People can also register for free flood warnings either by calling the Floodline number or at the NRW website.
The Met Office weather alerts for Monday and Tuesday warned . . .
■ Flooding of a few homes and businesses is likely.
■ Bus and train services will probably be affected with journey times taking longer.
■ Spray and flooding on roads will probably make journey times longer.
Alex Burkill, a meteorologist with the Met Office, said: “Monday is going to start off pretty fine for most places, however a system is going to come in through the day reaching south west England and Wales by 10am and spreading eastwards as we go through the day.
“By evening rush hour, much of England and Wales will be pretty wet.”
Another 70mm could fall over the highest areas, Mr Burkill said, which would be falling onto already saturated ground.
Police forces in Wales warned drivers to take care on slippery and potentially treacherous roads, and rail passengers were advised to check their route for delays before travelling.