Torrential rain leaves Welshpool residents floundering in floods
A WELSH town was deluged by water after heavy rain led to flashflooding yesterday.
Emergency services asked people to only travel to Welshpool if necessary after the Powys town was hit by “significant flooding” across large areas.
Streets were submerged under up to 3ft of water as emergency services received dozens of calls from householders and businesses.
The flooding partially closed Victoria Memorial Hospital and fire crews were called to stop water entering a high school yesterday morning.
Thunderstorms and torrential rain had been forecast to hit part of Wales this bank holiday weekend and a yellow weather warning remained in place until 6am today.
Video footage showed fast-flowing water through the streets of Welshpool.
Powys Health Board said that some services have been affected at the community hospital and apologised for any inconvenience.
A statement said: “Our main ward is unaffected and patients are being cared for as normal. We have temporarily closed our birth centre, with midwifery cases being diverted to Newtown. Local women booked for delivery this week in Welshpool are being contacted.”
The minor injuries unit at the hospital was closed, but has been re-established at a temporary site.
The kitchen has also been affected, with all meals for patients being delivered from Newtown Hospital.
The statement added that a “major clean-up” is now under way.
Welshpool Music Festival has also been postponed.
Organisers said: “Due to flood warnings from the services, as a committee and with the venue landlords, we have come to the difficult conclusion to postpone Welshpool Music Festival on health and safety grounds.
“We’ll be moving it to a different day where the weather risk isn’t as high as it is today.”
Forecasters say there is a small chance that homes and businesses could be flooded quickly, with damage to some buildings from floodwater, lightning strikes and strong winds during the weather warning.
Welshpool Fire Station tweeted on Sunday: “We’ve had multiple calls this morning to flooding incidents in Welshpool and surrounding areas. Please avoid the town centre if possible, especially Salop road. Only drive if necessary.”
A Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service spokeswoman said they had received around 15 calls to flooding incidents on Sunday.
They said they were called to Welshpool Hospital at around 8am.
Crews also attended Welshpool High School just before 11am to divert floodwater away from the building.