The Met Office has hit back after some victims who faced flooding as a result of Storm Bert said the yellow weather warnings that were issued should have been red instead.
Earlier today, Rhondda Cynon Taf Council leader Andrew Morgan hit out at the weather forecasting service over the weather warnings they issued ahead of the storm. Yellow weather warnings were given for wind and rain – but Councillor Morgan believes they should have been higher.
The councillor said he was “amazed” there wasn’t a red weather warning in force in Wales. He also said the council would contact the Met Office about the lower level warnings.
A major incident was declared for Rhondda Cynon Taf as more than 100 properties were flooded, roads were closed and residents were told to boil their water after the persistent rain continued from Saturday into Sunday. Late on Sunday evening, the Met Office responded by saying that there were “a number of warnings in place ahead of the system reaching the UK” and that the warnings “highlighted the potential for homes and businesses to flood with fast flowing or deep floodwater was possible, causing a danger to life.”
Simon Brown, Services Director at the Met Office told Wales Online: “Our thoughts are with those who are currently affected with the impacts caused by Storm Bert in South Wales, as well as the rest of the country. As always with a named storm, a full assessment of the forecast and warning strategy will take place with our partners. But this assessment is carried out post event, therefore, I would expect this to take place over the coming days.
“Storm Bert was well forecast, 48 hours in advance, with a number of warnings in place ahead of the system reaching the UK. We work closely with partners to assess the potential risks of extreme weather and the warnings covering Wales highlighted the potential for homes and businesses to flood with fast flowing or deep floodwater was possible, causing a danger to life.”
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Last night, five adults and five children were also rescued from a house in Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog, near Llangollen in north Wales, after a landslide battered the area. A North Wales Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said the group were being assessed by ambulance services away from the scene “somewhere warm”. A further landslide was reported in the area but it is understood no one has been affected.
This evening, a body was found in the search for a dog walker who went missing in floodwater. The second named storm of the season has brought more than 80 per cent of November’s average monthly rainfall in less than 48 hours, with more than 100 flood warnings still in place in England, Scotland and Wales.
North Wales Police said a body had been found in the area of Gower Road, Trefiw, in north-west Wales near the Afon Conwy river, where 75-year-old Brian Perry went missing on Saturday while walking his dog. The body has not been formally identified but Mr Perry’s family has been informed.
In a statement on Facebook on Sunday afternoon, Chief Inspector Simon Kneale of North Wales Police said: “I would like to thank the efforts of all agencies involved in the searches in very difficult conditions and for the local community who supported the teams in the area. Our thoughts are with the family at this difficult time and they have asked that their privacy is respected.”
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