The River Taff raged through the centre of Pontypridd on Sunday, overflowing its banks and overwhelming homes and businesses.
Sion Street, which runs parallel to the river in the centre of the Valleys town, was flooded, with the murky water breaching several terrace properties. Residents desperately tried to empty their front yards of water with plastic buckets, while others frantically stacked sandbags on their doorsteps.
Firefighters arrived and pumped water in the shadow of the town’s 18th-century stone Old Bridge, while members of the public brought food and drinks to the emergency workers.
This is the second time in four years the street in Pontypridd has experienced major flooding.
Ian Dewhurst leapt in his car about 100 miles away in Salisbury, Wiltshire, after receiving a phone call from his distressed daughter, who had moved into a property in Sion Street just two weeks ago.
The flood water had yet to breach her home – but as Dewhurst gestured with his hand – the rising deluge came within inches of breaching the reinforced metal floodgate that protected the property.
“The river level two weeks ago when she moved in was metres below that,” Dewhurst said, pointing to the cascading river. “Fortunately, our daughter has friends – she works for Cardiff University at the hospital – who were able to come around and help and move furniture and whatever. But it’s not ideal.”
For now, Dewhurst is focusing on supporting his daughter, but he believes there was an error in the flood survey undertaken during the purchase, which failed to highlight the risk to the property.
“I was somewhat surprised to find that the 2020 flood wasn’t identified – but a number of these properties were all damaged,” he said, as neighbours to the property climbed over the front yard’s walls as the only accessible way to exit the street.
Rest centres were set up for affected residents at Pontypridd library, the Ystrad sports centre, Sobell leisure centre and Cynon Valley indoor bowls centre. Elsewhere in the town, homes in Berw Road and businesses in Mill Street were breached.
Steve Western decided to close his office on Mill Street. “We’ve cleared the office, turned the electrics off … The shops behind me, they’ve been affected worse because they’re at a dip,” he said. “We’re just waiting for the water to recede now really and we’ll go and help clear out the other shops.”
Pontypridd was just one of the towns severely affected in south Wales, with Rhondda Cynon Taf county borough council, South Wales fire and rescue, Natural Resources Wales & South Wales police declaring a major incident for the borough.
The council said “significant” flooding had taken place with the “impact looking to be more significant than the severe impact experienced during Storm Dennis” in 2020. Cwmbran, Ebbw Vale, Aberdare and Abergavenny were some of the other towns affected.
