Weather: Floods in Wales cause power cuts and train delays

Stormy weather has caused disruption across Wales, including power cuts, flooding and train delays.

The National Grid said about 600 homes, mainly in Newport, were without power.

South Wales Fire and Rescue Service said the areas worst affected by flooding were Porth and Pontypridd, in Rhondda Cynon Taf.

Paul Cooper, of Taff's Well, Rhondda Cynon Taf, was flooded in 2020 and discovered water pouring from his bathroom on Thursday morning.

"The toilet was overflowing, it was erupting," the 53-year-old kitchen fitter said.

"Everything is brand new. It's only been in since Christmas 2020. The water's gone into everything.

"It's like déjà vu. Here we go again. When's it going to stop?

It was sewage water in his property, he said, adding: "The weather forecast isn't very good for next week. Is it going to happen again? When's the next time?

"We were told it was a once in a lifetime occurrence, but here we are, two years later, and it's happened again."

Earlier, Transport For Wales (TfW) said four railway lines were blocked, including Cardiff Central to Caerphilly.

Pontypridd to Treherbert, Abercynon to Aberdare, and Bridgend to Llantwit Major were also flooded, TfW said.

Great Western Railway also said its services were affected due to heavy rain.

South Wales Fire and Rescue Service added a number of hillside and low-lying properties had been affected from run-off water and blocked culverts - tunnels which drain water away.

Leader of Rhondda Cynon Taf council, Andrew Morgan, added: "So far all the culverts that we've spent millions of pounds upgrading since Storm Dennis have upheld.

"If your journey is not urgent, stay off the roads for the next few hours so the highway crews and emergency services have a chance to respond."

Meanwhile, the National Grid said power outages were affecting about 450 homes in Newport as well as some in Penarth, Vale of Glamorgan, Llanelli, Carmarthenshire and Kenfig Hill, Bridgend county.

A yellow rain warning in place across 16 of Wales' 22 counties was cancelled just before 14:00.

Wind speeds are predicted to increase and a yellow warning for high winds up to 70mph (112km/h) has been issued in Conwy, Gwynedd and Anglesey between 15:00 on Thursday and 03:00 on Friday.

A specialist boat team from Mid and West Fire and Rescue came to the aid of a driver who was stranded in his van on a flooded stretch of the A4069 near Llandovery, Carmarthenshire.

Kevin Evans, 55, from Llandysul, Ceredigion, said: "I was following two cars and they got through and my engine just cut out. I've been there for about two [or] three hours. It was getting worse because the water seemed to be rising."

Natural Resources Wales had flood warnings in place on Thursday afternoon.

The Met Office said yesterday was Cardiff's third wettest January day on record - with 41.2mm (1.6in) of rain falling in 24 hours.

It was also Cardiff's wettest day since 23 December 2020 and only the third time in January that Cardiff has seen more than 40mm in 24 hours, the others being 14 January 2008 (42.2mm) and 27 January 1995 (43.0mm).

Two access roads to St Fagans museum in Cardiff were blocked due to floodwater and will be closed for the rest of Thursday.

Cardiff council warned water levels were extremely high at the level crossing on Michaelston Road over the River Ely at St Fagans and urged people to avoid the area.

Severe floods have also affected Peterston-super-Ely, Vale of Glamorgan, with at least four cars trapped underwater near the Sportsmans Rest.

Guto Davies from Clwb y Bont in Pontypridd said there was about 2in (5cm) of water in the club and he had erected barriers to stop more getting in.

He added: "We received many flood alerts, but until we get a flood warning we don't put the barriers up. That system hasn't worked for us and that's worrying and disappointing.

"Since February 2020, we partially reopened then fully reopened in November - barely three months and it's flooded again."

Head of operations south central at Natural Resources Wales (NRW), Mike Evans, said: "We've been suffering from quite severe conditions on top of several weeks of rainfall.

"The biggest impact is there is a lot of surface water around so I advise people to be very careful before leaving the house."

Several of Stagecoach South Wales' services were cancelled or delayed.

Hensol Golf Academy flooded after the River Ely burst its banks.

The family-run business was badly hit by an electrical storm in November, and lost internet and phone lines for two months. This morning it was without power because of the floods.

Manager and pro Aled Griffiths said: "I had a phone call this morning at 6am from the alarm company to say the electric has gone off. I came down to check and the conditions were biblical. The rain was coming in sideways.

"I looked out on to the driving range and I thought, 'I'm going to take up swimming instead of golf'. I didn't know what to do. "

Dairy farmer Abi Reader from Wenvoe, Vale of Glamorgan, told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast it had been "a wild night".

She added: "We've had electricity flickering on and off. The milking parlour had about a foot of water in it which we've had to pump out."

A number of workmen and council staff have been dealing with flooding in Dinas, near Porth, Rhondda Cynon Taf.

Terry Evans, highways engineer at Rhonnda Cynon Taf Council, said: "The sheer volume of water means the drainage system is overwhelmed."

The M48 Severn Bridge was closed in both directions between Chepstow and Aust in Gloucestershire.

The heavy rain caused one of the main roads in Chepstow, Welsh Street, to close between the town centre and the comprehensive school.

The A4061, Bwlch Mountain Road, was partially blocked in both directions between B4223 Pen-Twyn Road and Haul Bryn in Nantymoel, Rhondda Cynon Taf, due to a landslip.

TfW said it was experiencing "disruption across the network" in south Wales and advised passengers to check before travelling.

Natural Resources Wales urged warned rivers were "high and dangerous."

People should stay clear of river banks, it said, and not try to walk or drive through floods.

Its flood response teams had been monitoring river levels, operating flood defences and trying to reduce flood risk to people and property.

The Welsh government said it was providing "record levels" of funds to deal with floods and reducing the risk of them was a priority.

A spokesman added: "Over the last government term we invested over £390m in flood and coastal erosion risk management through two programmes, reducing risk to more than 47,000 properties across Wales.

"This financial year we are investing more than £71m across Wales through local authorities and Natural Resources Wales. 

"This includes work building new flood assets, maintenance of existing assets, development of future schemes, natural flood management, property flood resilience measures, mapping, modelling and awareness raising."