Police have declared a major incident in South Wales after severe and widespread flooding from Storm Claudia transformed roads into rivers, submerging homes, businesses, and vehicles.
Emergency Response and Evacuations
Emergency services and local rescue teams were forced to carry out emergency evacuations in Monmouth after a threat-to-life warning was issued at 1.30am on Saturday morning. The crisis unfolded after Storm Claudia battered large parts of England, Wales, and Scotland overnight, with some areas seeing a month's worth of rain in just 24 hours.
Monmouth resident Kim Kaos gave a stark account of the situation, stating: "At 2am this morning my town flooded. It looks like the flood defence walls have either broken or been topped. The Monnow is rampant in the town... This is what climate collapse looks like."
Monmouthshire county councillor Martin Newell, who owns a business in the town, expressed his devastation. "I haven't seen it this bad in Monmouth for 20 to 30 years," he admitted. He emphasised the need for a full investigation into the flood defences and vowed, "We're going to clean this up and we will get it done."
Widespread Impact and Disruption
The impact of the storm was felt across the UK. In Herefordshire, the River Dulas Brook burst its banks in the village of Ewes Harold, causing devastating damage to houses and a local post office. A man in Birmingham required rescue after becoming stranded in his van in deep water.
Transport networks were severely disrupted. National Rail warned passengers in England and Wales to expect cancellations and significant delays, particularly affecting services in Worcestershire and between London Paddington and Bristol. High winds of up to 70mph in Cheshire brought trees down onto roads, while in Maryport, Cumbria, a key road was completely cut off by floodwater.
The severe weather led to the cancellation of numerous community events, including Christmas light switch-ons in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter, several villages in Warwickshire and South Yorkshire, and the launch of a Winter Wonderland in Norwich.
Colder Weather on the Horizon
As the floodwaters begin to recede, a new weather challenge is emerging. Forecasters have warned that the UK is set for a dramatic drop in temperature. The UK Health Security Agency has issued a yellow cold weather alert for parts of the Midlands and northern England, effective from 8am on Monday until 8am on Friday, November 21.
Met Office meteorologist Honor Criswick explained, "Overnight on Saturday and throughout the course of Sunday, we will start to see winds changing to be a bit more northerly, introducing a lot of Arctic air." She added that while conditions will become less stormy, it will "be feeling a lot colder," with sleet and snow forecast for parts of Scotland by Wednesday.
Despite the devastation, community spirit remains strong. Monmouth MP Catherine Fookes noted, "Monmouthshire has a fantastic community spirit and I know we will continue to pull together and support one another as the clean-up begins."
