Storm Frank swept across Pembrokeshire on Wednesday (30 Dec) causing widespread damage and flooding whilst also leaving hundreds of homes without power. At 23.00 on Tuesday evening the Met Office warned of a risk of flooding to all coastal areas around the county as high tides combined with severe force 7-8 south westerly winds, but the disruption was not solely confined to coastal regions, with many area in land suffering from power cuts and floods. At 8am nearly 450 homes throughout the county were without power, with areas affected ranging from Tenby and Pembroke Dock in the south, through to Solva and St Davids in the north of the county.
By 10am power had been restored to all residents in Tenby, with other areas reconnected before midday by the engineers of Western Power, who battled against the fierce elements to restore the power supply in the areas affected. Due to the abhorrent sea conditions ferry services were hit hard, with Irish Ferries cancelling the 02:45 and 14:45 Wednesday (30 Dec) sailings from Pembroke Dock to Rosslare, with their services resuming with the 20:45 Rosslare to Pembroke Dock service. Stena Line announced the cancellation of its 02:30 service from Fishguard to Rosslare on the same day, but did resume sailing at 14:30 in the afternoon, deeming the conditions suitable for travel.
Photos showed the village of Amroth in south Pembrokeshire, which was so badly damaged by storms in January 2014, being hit by huge waves, but its newly built defences managed to repel what the storm served up this time around, whilst waves also battered the defences at nearby village Saundersfoot. Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service announced that their services had had a busy night, with two separate crews called out to similar incidents at petrol stations in Haverfordwest and Milford Haven. The Milford Haven crew removed a piece of sheet metal that had blown loose at the Tesco petrol station, whilst Haverfordwest’s unit dealt with an almost identical incident at the Ridgeway Garage on the Fishguard Road.
However a spokesman for the service said that Pembrokeshire had escaped the worst of the damage with fire crews called out to deal with far more incidents in Carmarthenshire. Despite this there was still considerable disruption on the roads around the county, with a fallen tree causing a problem on Crowhill Road in Haverfordwest, with the road partially blocked between the Cashfield Way and Sheltery Hill junctions. A fallen tree also caused queues on the A487 between Newport and Eglwyswrw, whilst there were delays due to fallen objects and flooding on the Capel Colman Road in Newchapel and on the B4331 between the A487 Castlemorris and A40 Letterston in the north of the county.
Readers sent their images of storm damage and flooding to The Herald, with one reader pointing out some deep flooding of the road from Rosemarket, past the Huntsman going towards Jordanston, with the water only passable by large 4×4 vehicles. A fallen telegraph pole also caused an obstruction on Sandy Hill Road in Saundersfoot, whilst there were numerous floods on the B4318 between Tenby and Carew, with traffic having to give way to allow safe passage through the deep gatherings of flood water.
Natural Resources Minister Carl Sargeant said £1m would be made available for local authorities to carry out immediate repairs and maintenance to river and drainage systems, although the majority of the money would be spent in North Wales. With further heavy rainfall predicted throughout the week Natural Resources Wales have issued advice to people to be aware of further flooding. It is advising people to take care on the roads as driving conditions may be difficult and is also asking people to take care near fast-flowing and swollen rivers.
People are advised to keep an eye on local news and weather forecasts for news of any disruption in their area, and are reminded of the dangers of driving through floodwater. Following the floods, NRW teams are out checking that flood defences are in good working order and that rivers are clear of debris, which could restrict the flow of water. Donna Littlechild, NRW’s Duty Tactical Manager, said: “We’re asking people to take care and regularly view our flood alerts and warnings, updated every 15 minutes on our live flood warning map available on our website. “People can find out if they are at risk of flooding, or sign up for our free Flood Warning service, by visiting our website or calling Floodline on 0345 988 1188.
“Anyone driving should be particularly careful as there will be a lot of water on the roads.” Information and updates are also available via Natural Resources Wales’s twitter account: @ natreswales. The Met Office has also issued warnings and has encouraged people to read the advice on their website on what to do in severe weather, in particular flooding.
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