AFTER THE FLOODS, THE CLEAN-UP
FOR Many in south and west Wales they are the worst floods in living memory, the like of which haven’t been see for three decades.
Carmarthen and Ceredigion in particular were very badly hit, with one young man losing his life in a landslide at in the A484 at Cwmduad.
The weekend storm caused 80 properties to flood across the area.
Huge swathes of Carmarthenshire were left underwater with businesses flooded.
The River Teifi at Llandysul reached its highest level since records began in 1971.
On Sunday, firefighters from Llandysul were called to a flood-related incident in Station Road, near the Tyweli River where approximately 60 gas cylinders had entered the river and accumulated in a culvert.
Firefighters were confronted with a strong smell of gas and evacuated 12 properties from either side of the river and cordoned off Station Road for public safety.
Firefighters retrieved about 40 of the cylinders from the river and monitored the incident until the level of the flood water dropped.
The cordons have now been lifted and business owners and residents have returned to their properties.
In a statement a fire service spokesman said: “Due to an unknown number of gas cylinders that have been washed down stream of the river, Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service advises members of the public, who may come across gas cylinders on the banks of the rivers Tyweli or Teifi, to leave the cylinders undisturbed and contact West Wales Gas on 01559 362000, between the hours of 8.30am-5pm, or 07968 514324 outside of office hours, to arrange their safe collection.”
The gas cylinders are propane or butane cylinders, of various sizes, and are blue or red in colour.
The sheer scale of the flooding was seen from pictures taken by Beth Grant, 53.
She said: “It was a matter of hours, it happened very quickly. The bridge was closed off by the police.
“I couldn’t leave because I rely on the buses and farmers were bringing tractors to try and clear the debris.”
And few places in Wales were harder hit by the storm than Newcastle Emlyn.
Tragically, 21-year-old Corey Thomas Sharpling died on the A484 at Cwmduad in Carmarthenshire.
Paying tribute to him, Corey’s family said: “We are heartbroken at the tragic loss of our beautiful son Corey.
“Many knew his wit, charm and sense of loyalty and we take those things with us in our hearts. We would like to thank the community for their support at this time and also friends and colleagues at University of Wales Trinity, St David, Carmarthen.
“As a family we would appreciate time to grieve and ask to be given
privacy in which to do so.”
Elsewhere there was extensive property damage throughout the town which straddles the Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion border.
The local rugby club was completely washed out with a local cafe still assessing the damage.
Further down-river from Newcastle Emlyn other areas felt the full force of the river.
Kristen Bowen, 22, lives in Llanybydder, further up the Teifi, but works in Swansea.
She said: “Our house was OK because we live up the hill. It didn’t feel like it was raining that much.
“We woke up on Saturday morning and the fields at the bottom had become lakes. I took a picture of a man wading through the water in the village, he was the only one I could see.”
Carmarthenshire council has confirmed that the flooding was the worst the county had seen in 30 years, with the flood defences at the River Towy in Carmarthen breached for the first time ever.
Stephen Pilliner, head of transport and engineering, said: “We have experienced unprecedented river levels and the worst flooding we have seen in Carmarthenshire for over 30 years. We have worked closely with Natural Resources Wales, Dyfed-Powys Police and Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service over the last two days to respond to the situation. However, in many areas the volume of water was simply too much for the flood defences.”
In Aberaeron at least eight boats were lost in the harbour.
Local boat owner Shane Jones said: “You could see the river pushing through the harbour. It’s not very big or very long but as the tide drops then the river becomes the dominant factor in the equation.
“With the boats moored when the river hits the sterns water comes into the boats and weigh the back end down and they become swamped.
“When an engine goes under water they are very difficult to salvage because of the sediment that gets in.”
For one pensioner even her first floor bedroom wasn’t safe from the rising waters.
The BBC reported that 93-year-old Dilys Pugh had to be carried from her flooded home at Pontargothi after she woke to find the floodwater around her first floor bed as high as the mattress, according to her son, Clive.