South Wales Fire and Rescue declared a major incident in Monmouth in the early hours of Saturday as Storm Claudia unleashed severe and widespread flooding across Wales and England. Emergency crews worked through the night conducting rescues and evacuations as fast-moving water blocked roads and put infrastructure under pressure.
The scale of the crisis became clear as Natural Resources Wales issued four severe flooding warnings indicating "significant risk to life and significant disruption to the community is expected". The Environment Agency placed 92 flood warnings across England, primarily in the Midlands, bringing the total to 102 warnings across both countries. One rain gauge in Wales recorded more than 60 percent of November's typical rainfall in a single day, while Little Rissington in Gloucestershire saw over 72mm fall on Friday.
Matt Jones, Area Manager at South Wales Fire and Rescue, urged residents to stay clear of affected areas. "This is a large-scale incident, and our crews and partners have been working tirelessly through the night and into today to help those affected," he said. "I would urge the public to avoid the Monmouth area completely where possible. The flooding is significant, and we need to keep routes clear to allow emergency services to reach the people who need us most."
Multiple agencies including Gwent Police, Welsh Ambulance Services, Mountain Rescue and the Coastguard joined the response effort. Sally Davies, duty tactical manager at Natural Resources Wales, warned of severe flooding potential in South East Wales and Powys: "This could lead to severe flooding in these areas, and we want people in these areas to prepare for that possibility."
Further rain is forecast for Saturday, particularly across East Yorkshire and North Yorkshire, before conditions shift dramatically. Honor Criswick, a Met Office meteorologist, said Arctic air will sweep in from Sunday: "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. [...] I think people are really going to notice a chill into Sunday and feeling cold in many areas." The UK Health Security Agency issued a cold weather warning for parts of the Midlands and northern England from Monday through Friday.
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
