Families tell of homes in ruins
7 dead and more havoc on way
School. Nursery boss Laura Yarwood, 32, said the “crazy” floods were “the worst anyone in Hereford has seen”.
She added: “I think most of the villages have been cut off and there’ve been quite a few evacuations.”
Locals in South Wales grabbed shovels to start the clean-up while others recalled their escapes.
Dad-of-two Daniel Patterson, 32, frantically tried to salvage precious possessions after his wife, Terri O’Donnell, 29, woke him at 4am.
She had heard water pouring into their home in the village of Nantgarw.
Daniel told the
Mirror: “I went downstairs and could not believe what I was seeing – the water was coming through the letterbox.
“The water was at my ankles so I was rushing round trying to get everything I could upstairs. By then I had two screaming children and a very distressed partner, which made things very stressful.
“By 5am the water was round my waist and I had to just abandon ship.
“We have lost a lot, mainly our baby photos, which is very upsetting.”
Daniel, Terri, and their children, Harper, five and Blake, one, went to his mum’s house in Barry, but returned to inspect their home yesterday.
Terri said: “It was devastating to look at 10 years of memories lost. “Seeing the children’s toys covered in mud was the worst.”
Paralegal Caroline Jones, 57, told how her husband, Richard saved their dog after their home was inundated.
She said: “My first thought was the dog, who
FLATTENED Allotments in Treforest sleeps in the bathroom. Richard had to wade down there and knock the door down. The dog was drowning – it was horrible, but we got him.
“Questions need to be asked about how this happened.”
Gordon Churchill, also from Nantgarw, was rescued on his 96th birthday with daughter Carolyn, who saved his treasured RAF medals.
Some homeowners living next to the River Taff, in Pontypridd, felt they had been abandoned.
Robin Williams, 62, said: “Where’s Boris? Where’s the help?”
Warning of more “heavy” downpours tomorrow and Thursday, Bonnie Diamond from the Met Office said: “There is rain in places where it isn’t really welcome.”
Andrew Morgan, leader of Rhondda Cynon Taf Council, said the region faced a “multi-million” bill to repair “roads, parks, bridges, flood defences and community buildings”.