AT LEAST £500 FOR FLOODED HOUSEHOLDS
HOUSEHOLDS affected by flooding from storms Ciara and Dennis will each receive £500, the Welsh Government has announced.
Hundreds of homes and businesses across the country were hit by flooding caused by the storms.
The cost of written-off cars in the village of Pentre, Rhondda Cynon Taf, alone is estimated to cost more than £1m.
Natural Resources Wales still had 13 flood warnings and 39 flood alerts in place due to further rain yesterday.
The Welsh Government yesterday announced that all households affected by flooding would receive £500.
An extra £500 will be available to those without house insurance cover.
First Minister Mark Drakeford said: “When I met people from flood-hit communities over the last week, I saw for myself the stress, strain and loss people are experiencing. We want to do all we can to help them at this extremely stressful time.
“I also saw the extreme pressure people are under if they didn’t have insurance cover or if their insurance policies do not cover flooding.
“To help those people, we are providing additional money to those not covered by house insurance.
“The Welsh Government has set up a £10m emergency fund to help with the immediate aftermath of the floods, but the cost of infrastructure damage and the investment needed to address the climate emergency go far beyond this. The UK Government also has a role in responding to these floods and a responsibility to the people of Wales.
“After a week of silence in the face of this emergency, we urgently need to hear what longer-term support communities can expect from the UK Government.”
People will receive an initial payment within 24 hours, with support for businesses available through Business Wales, a spokeswoman for the Welsh Government said.
The announcement came after Welsh politicians wrote letters to the Prime Minister and the Chancellor, asking for assistance.
In a statement, a spokeswoman said the UK Government had been in “regular touch” with emergency services, local authorities, public bodies and the Welsh Government, including Mr Drakeford.
“The Secretary of State for Wales, Simon Hart MP, met the First Minister, Mark Drakeford AM, today and reiterated the UK Government’s support for the affected communities,” the UK Government spokeswoman said.
“Flood defences and the response to flooding in Wales are a responsibility of the Welsh Government, but the Secretary of State for Wales told the First Minister that the UK Government will look seriously at any request from the Welsh Government for additional support and assistance for flood relief.”
Any flood hardship payments will not affect people’s eligibility for benefits issued by the Department for Work and Pensions, she confirmed.
As reported in yesterday’s Western Mail, a letter from Welsh Labour politicians to Chancellor Rishi Sunak
described the situation in the Rhondda Cynon Taf area as “a national emergency on our doorstep”.
They said 600 homes and a similar number of businesses had been hit by flooding, representing 25% of properties affected across the UK.
There have been landslides in the county – a couple on coal tips – and some are being monitored 24 hours a day.
The letter is signed by Labour MPs Chris Elmore, Chris Bryant, Beth Winter and Alex David-Jones, Welsh Labour Assembly Members Mick Antoniw, Vikki Howells and Huw Irranca-Davies, and Andrew Morgan, the leader of Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council.
It asks for a one-off grant of £30m, exemption from council tax and businesses rates and a Governmentfunded review of all former coalmining sites across South Wales.
“Wales has borne the brunt of the damage and RCT in particular has been hit hardest of all, whilst having the fewer resources,” the letter says.
Fundraising appeals, including one by Welsh actor Michael Sheen, have reached around £200,000 collectively.
A collection at the Principality Stadium at the Six Nations Wales v France match raised more than £12,000 for rugby clubs affected by the storm.
In a letter to Boris Johnson, 22 Welsh MPs called for the UK Government to “provide ongoing support” and to reconsider the method for allocating funding to the Welsh Government.
The Prime Minister’s continued absence from flooded areas has been defended by Downing Street, with officials insisting it was important not to “distract” from the ongoing effort to deal with the problem..
Number 10 said the Prime Minister had been receiving “regular updates” about the situation as he spent time at the grace-and-favour Chevening mansion last week.
Environment Secretary George Eustice was “rightly” leading the UK Government’s response to the flooding which has hit parts of Britain.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn visited Rhydyfelin, near Pontypridd, last week and challenged the Prime Minister to visit flood-hit communities.
Mr Johnson’s decision to stay away from flooded towns and villages is in marked contrast to his response during the general election campaign, when he carried out visits and called an emergency Cobra meeting.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “The Environment Secretary and his department is rightly leading the Government’s response to this, ensuring teams who are busy working around the clock have the support and resources they need. It’s important not to distract from that ongoing effort.”
Yesterday, the M48 Severn Crossing was also closed in both directions because of high winds.
Flooding on the railway line at Llanharan caused disruption to services between Cardiff to Bridgend and Maesteg and flooding at Tonypandy and Treherbert meant no services were able to run north of Pontypridd.
All lines later reopened, but rail replacement transport was on standby in case further flooding occurs.
Rail replacement transport was used between Pontypridd and Treherbert for several hours while the flood water subsided.
A spokesman for Network Rail yesterday said: “Continued heavy rainfall has resulted in flooding in the Llanharan area on the South Wales Main Lane. Services will still be able to travel from Cardiff to Bridgend, but this will be a reduced service via the Vale of Glamorgan.
“Passengers are urged to check details before travelling and allow additional time. We thank them in advance and apologise for any inconvenience caused.”
Several railway lines remained closed due to the aftermath of Storm Dennis. These include services between Aberdare and Pontypridd, the Cambrian line, and the Conwy Valley line.
Forecasters predicted some respite over the next 48 hours, with the weather settling down accompanied by a notable dip in temperatures – before heavy rain is expected to return on Friday.
Meanwhile, calls have been made for land reclamation grants to be brought back to prevent potentially “disastrous” landslides on former Valleys coal tips.
Leanne Wood, the Plaid Cymru Assembly Member for the Rhondda, has called for the return of the grants after Storm Dennis caused one landslide at the Llanwonno Tip in Tylorstown nine days ago.
More than 20 former coal tips are now being checked following the incident.
There was a small landslip behind the Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT) Council headquarters on Thursday, which forced council staff and a cabinet meeting to move buildings.
Neath Port Talbot Council is working to repair a valley road damaged during Storm Dennis.
The main road between Cymmer and Abergwynfi in the upper Afan Valley, at a point outside Gelli Cottages, was flooded during the storm and it led to part of the highway collapsing.
Yesterday, work started on a project to repair the roadway involving the installation of gabion baskets (cages full of rock or concrete) to create a new 20m long retaining wall (four metres high) which will bring the damaged section of road back into full use once again.
Plans to open a new secondhand book shop on the old tinworks site at Aberdulais were postponed because of flooding. The restored Old Workers Library, (nick-named the OWL) will now have to be cleaned-up again before a postponed relaunch on World Book Day, March 5.
Road problems were reported throughout Wales:
■ The A470 at Aberangell was closed southbound because of flooding, while northbound has temporary traffic lights in place;
■ the A479 at Talgarth was closed after a landslip;
■ the Dyfi bridge in Machynlleth was closed because of flooding;
■ the A490 at Coed Y Dinas, Powys, was closed because of flooding;’ and
■ emergency repairs closed the A4046 at Aberbeeg in Blaenau Gwent between the Aberbeeg and Cwm roundabouts.