It is two years since the start of storms that brought devastation to Wales and now there is a warning people should prepare for them being a "new reality".
In February 2020, Storms Ciara, Dennis and Jorge brought record rainfall and river levels across Wales, and some of the most significant and devastating flooding seen since the 1970s with 3,130 properties affected right across the country. Approximately 1,498 homes and businesses in Rhondda Cynon Taf alone were hit, and vital infrastructure destroyed.
February 15 marks the anniversary of Storm Dennis – the second and most destructive of the three named storms to hit Wales in the space of four weeks in February two years ago.
Read more: You can find more stories from across Rhondda Cynon Taf here.
Today, the head of Natural Resources Wales has warned they are no longer exceptional events but the "future reality".
Chief executive of Natural Resources Wales, Clare Pillman said: “Flooding is a deeply personal tragedy, and our thoughts continue to be with those still recovering and rebuilding but as more and more communities affected by flooding each year count the cost of lost belongings, ruined homes and businesses, and as people live with lingering fears of future storms, we know that so much more needs to be done to prepare ourselves to face our future reality."
She said COP26 and reports on climate change have given "renewed impetus" to tackle climate change, but "the climate problem has also accelerated which is why our thinking and our actions to help mitigate and adapt to its impacts needs to go further and faster if we’re to secure the improved flood-risk outcomes we need for the people of Wales."
In the aftermath of the flooding, a review found 12 flood warnings were not issued when they should have been, and six were issued late as increased pressure on staff operating a flood warning service in Wales hampered its ability to issue alerts to residents. You can read about that here.
There are also fears from those living in the communities about what could happen if a similar storm hits again.
Before her election as Plaid Cymru's Senedd member for South Wales Central, Heledd Fychan was out helping her community in Pontypridd when the floods hit in the early hours on February 16, 2020 and has since led calls for an independent inquiry into the floods. She said people continue to "live in fear".
"For two years, communities and businesses have been left traumatised and are living in fear and preparing for the worst every time there is heavy rain."
Section 19 reports look at the circumstances of a flood event and what parties have a role in managing the risks.
Ms Fychan said: “Only nine out of nineteen Section 19 reports have been published, and none of the further 28 flood investigation reports are publicly available. This is not good enough. Even where they have been published, the majority of residents don’t believe the reports are adequate. They also believe that there are too many unanswered questions that are yet to be addressed.
“I have been repeatedly told by local Labour representatives that an independent inquiry would take too long. However, two years on, we still don’t know what happened and why, so how can we therefore plan to prevent future flooding? Residents do not feel confident that their homes and businesses will be safe if a similar event were to happen in the future."
She wants a Welsh Flood Forum to be set up in Wales, as there is in Scotland, funded by the Scottish Government and tasked to work with communities at risk of flooding to develop community resilience groups as well as providing immediate support when individuals and communities experience flooding. That would, she said offer "peace of mind" to residents.
In the Labour-Plaid Cymru co-operation agreement, reached after the 2021 Senedd election, the two parties vowed to "commission an independent review of the local government section 19 and Natural Resources Wales reports into extreme flooding in winter 2020-21 and act on its recommendations." There was also a pledge to "invest more in flood management and mitigation and plan to respond to the increased risk of flooding."
It said: "We will ask the National Infrastructure Commission for Wales to assess how the nationwide likelihood of flooding of homes, businesses and infrastructure can be minimised by 2050."
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