Heavy rain and thawing snow are combining to bring flooding across the UK as Storm Bert continues to batter the country, with a major incident declared in south Wales.
Rhondda Cynon Taf county borough council declared an emergency as flood waters rose in towns across the region. Rising waters were affecting towns including Pontypridd, Ebbw Vale and Aberdare.
The River Taff in Pontypridd topped its banks near Sion Street, flooding homes, while businesses in Mill Street were forced to close. Residents resorted to bailing out their front yards with buckets, as firefighters attempted to pump the water from the street.
Rest centres were set up for affected people at Pontypridd library, Ystrad sports centre, Sobell leisure centre and Cynon Valley indoor bowls centre.
A council spokesperson said: “Throughout the evening the severity of the weather has resulted in widespread impact with over 100 properties potentially flooded, both commercial and residential.
“Council assets have also been damaged, with Lido Ponty, Park and Dare theatre and a number of schools impacted. Impacted schools will send out direct communications to families to make them aware.
“There are a number of highways closures, with a landslip on the Bwlch Mountain Road at Nantymoel closing this road, and South Wales police closing bridges in Pontypridd. The advice to everyone is only travel if absolutely necessary.”
The Pontypridd parkrun Facebook page said: “Our park has been flooded again. Whilst we do not know the full extent of any damage yet, initial pictures do not look good.”
Chris Bryant, the MP for Rhondda and Ogmore, said: “I am deeply saddened to witness the devastation caused by last night’s storm and the severe flooding across our communities. The flooding across areas in the Rhondda and Ogmore is unprecedented. I have never seen it on this scale before.
“My team and I are working tirelessly to support those impacted, and I want to assure everyone that the Rhondda Cynon Taf county borough council, Bridgend county borough council and Dŵr Cymru teams are doing everything in their power to respond to this crisis.”
More than 200 flood alerts were in place for England, Wales and Scotland overnight on Saturday and Met Office yellow warnings for rain and wind covered large swathes of the country into Sunday.
Three men have died on the roads during Storm Bert and thousands of homes have been without power.
The Met Office chief meteorologist Andy Page said winds could reach 60 or 70mph. He said: “While the risk of any snowfall has now diminished, rainfall will affect much of the UK today, in particular some south-western parts of England and south Wales, but the heaviest rain will ease from these areas through the day. Warnings could still be amended, possibly at short notice, so it is important people keep up to date with the very latest forecast.”
Milder temperatures were causing the snow that has covered the north of England and much of Scotland to melt. Dozens of red flood warnings have been issued in England, meaning flooding is expected and residents and business owners should “act now”, according to the Environment Agency.
Some attractions were closed due to the gusty weather. Hyde Park’s Winter Wonderland closed on Sunday as did all of London’s royal parks, including Greenwich Park and Primrose Hill.
Travel disruption continued into Sunday and the ferry operator DFDS cancelled services on some routes until Monday, including its Newhaven to Dieppe sailings.
Road closures on Sunday included the M48 Severn Bridge in Gloucestershire, while a stretch of the A66 in North Yorkshire and Cumbria was closed to high-sided and vulnerable vehicles.
As much as 64.4mm (2.53in) of rain fell in Capel Curig, north Wales, in 12 hours on Saturday and wind gusts of up to 82mph (132km/h) were recorded in the Welsh village.
On Sunday afternoon, North Wales police said a body had been found in the search for 75-year-old Brian Perry, who went missing in the River Conwy on Saturday.
Ch Insp Simon Kneale, of North Wales police, said: “I would like to thank the efforts of all agencies involved in the searches in very difficult conditions and for the local community who supported the teams in the area. Our thoughts are with the family at this difficult time.”
A man in his 60s died after a tree fell on a car on the A34 near Winchester, Hampshire police said. Officers found the driver of a black Mercedes E350 dead at the scene and were investigating whether the incident was linked to the storm.
Two other fatal collisions happened while the storm took hold in England. West Yorkshire police said a 34-year-old man died in a single-vehicle collision in the early hours of Saturday. It was unclear if the incident was related to Storm Bert but it is understood the road was not affected by ice.
In Northamptonshire, a man in his 40s died in a crash on the A45 near Flore. It was not clear whether the incident was linked to the storm.
Five adults and five children had to be rescued from a house in Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog, near Llangollen in north Wales, after a landslide, North Wales fire and rescue service said.
Rail operators cancelled services on some routes all day on Saturday and urged passengers to check their routes before making journeys.
Avanti West Coast cancelled its service between Edinburgh and Carlisle all day on Saturday, with the next direct service from Carlisle not scheduled to run until Sunday afternoon.
Greater Anglia, which operates trains from London Liverpool Street to Stansted airport, cancelled 52 services on Sunday afternoon after fallen trees damaged overhead power wires.
A spokesperson for the Energy Networks Association said it had restored power to 325,000 homes by Sunday morning.
