Storm Bert updates: Five dead as ‘devastating’ floods leave trail of destruction

A major incident has been declared in South Wales after dozens of homes, businesses and a number of schools were affected by flooding during Storm Bert.

Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council, South Wales Fire and Rescue, Natural Resources Wales (NRW) and South Wales Police have declared a major incident for the borough.

Meanwhile, a body has been found in the search for 75-year-old Brian Perry after he went missing in the River Conwy on Saturday, North Wales Police said.

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At least five people have reportedly died as Storm Bert caused “devastating” flooding over the weekend in the UK, leaving hundreds of homes underwater and turning roads into rivers.

A body was found in the search for a 75-year-old man missing in the River Conwy, as the heavy rainfall and thawed snow brought by Storm Bert put more than 400 areas in the UK at risk of flooding.

A man in his 80s died after his car entered the water near Colne over the weekend, the police said. The man was recovered from the water on Cockhill Lane and rushed to a hospital where he was later pronounced dead.

More than 200 flood alerts remain in place for England and Wales and travel issues are set to continue into the new week.

The last of the Met Office’s rain warnings ended at 11.59pm yesterday but strong winds persist and rain from high ground will reach rivers, which could disrupt clean-up efforts.

The Met Office forecast that rain in the south-east of England will clear today but blustery showers could stick around for the north-west.

Simon Brown, services director at the Met Office, told PA: “Our thoughts are with those who are currently affected with the impacts caused by Storm Bert in South Wales, as well as the rest of the country.”

“Storm Bert was well forecast, 48 hours in advance, with a number of warnings in place ahead of the system reaching the UK.”

Welsh first minister Eluned Morgan said the flood has been “absolutely devastating” as Storm Bert is forecast to continue causing disruption.

“I think this is the second time that many of those have suffered as a result of the storm,” she said.

“There’s been huge investments since the last storm hit, so we’ve managed to protect lots more properties than last time.

“But obviously this is absolutely devastating just before Christmas for those people who have been impacted.”

The Met Office has already confirmed the storm names to be used across 2024 and 2025 – as the UK is hit by Storm Bert.

The new storms list – first launched in 2015 – for each year generally runs from early September until late August the following year, coinciding with the beginning of autumn.

James, Lewis and Mavis are all included in the new list in honour of figures from the Met Office’s 170-year history.

South Wales Fire and Rescue Service faced a backlog of 120 emergency calls at the peak of the major incident that was declared as a result of the flooding.

South Wales Fire and Rescue Service’s chief fire officer Fin Monahan told a press conference in Pontypridd that the major incident was declared earlier on Sunday based on the number of calls they were getting and the number of assets they were distributing out on the ground.

He said at the peak there was “120 calls stacked up”, adding: “As soon as we declared the major incident, we were in a position that we were then able to offload those calls onto other neighbouring fire and rescue services who then helped us deal with the call flow.

“We had about 75 per cent of our available assets out on the ground and we’ve had people out on the ground there doing incredible work.”

He said it had been a “very busy morning”, but the rainfall was forecast to subside on Sunday afternoon.

The Environment Agency has warned that “just 30cm of water is enough to float your car”, as it urged motorists not to drive through floodwaters.

More than 400 areas are at risk of flooding in Scotland, England and Wales.