Wales bears the brunt as rain pounds Britain
LONDON >> Storm Dennis hammered Britain on Sunday, bringing a month’s worth of rain in just 48 hours to parts of South Wales, which bore the brunt of the country’s second severe storm inside a week.
Rivers across Britain burst their banks, and severe flood warnings remained in place, as authorities strove to get people to safety and to protect homes and businesses. The Met Office, Britain’s meteorological service, said the disruption is set to carry through into today.
Major incidents have been declared in several areas in England and Wales as authorities mobilized resources to deal with the impact of the overflowing rivers that have cut off some communities.
A man in his 60s died after falling into the River Tawe in South Wales midmorning and his body was found farther along the river, Dyfed-Powys police said on social media. Police said his death was not being treated as suspicious or being linked to the bad weather.
On Saturday, Storm Dennis was blamed for the deaths of two men who were pulled from the sea in separate searches off England’s southeastern coast.
Dennis has been so intense that England posted a record number of flood warnings and alerts and a rare “red warning” for extremely life-threatening flooding was announced for South Wales.
The Met Office only issues its highest red warning when it thinks the weather will be so dangerous that there’s a “risk to life” and that people must take immediate action to protect themselves.
It was the first time a red warning has been sounded since December 2015.
Though the warning lasted only a few hours, South Wales Police declared a major incident as firefighters and rescue crews continued to help communities following multiple floods, landslides and evacuations.
Nearby Gwent police said residents of Skenfrith, Monmouthshire, were being advised to evacuate due to the flooding.