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Residents of Monmouth recently recounted to BBC Wales the devastating scenes caused by severe flooding in November 2025. Locals described the event as both “harrowing” and “dreadful,” emphasizing the unprecedented scale of the disaster. Longtime town inhabitants Malcolm Butcher, Jim Tyler, Brian Churches, and Dave Blake—all aged in their early 80s—expressed astonishment, saying they had never witnessed anything like it before.
Malcolm recalled the initial surge hitting in the early hours, around 2:30 am, describing the water as “absolutely raging.” He warned that if the flood had occurred during daylight, it might have resulted in fatalities. The floodwaters claimed eighteen vehicles on his street, including his own, and homes on the adjacent road suffered complete inundation. He voiced growing concern about the situation, noting Monmouth is fed by three rivers and observing that winters seem to be changing in recent years. In light of such events, Malcolm advised residents to prepare by relocating valuables to higher floors and keeping sandbags available ahead of severe weather warnings.
Imogen Elliot, another longtime resident, acknowledged that although recovery is underway, the town has yet to return to normal. She described how water levels reached up to four feet inside local establishments, including Waitrose, and extended along the street—a scale of flooding the town had not seen before despite having experienced floods in the past.
Looking at the broader climate context, experts anticipate that climate change will bring increasingly frequent and intense weather patterns to Wales, with the likelihood of wetter and more turbulent winters. This year, scientists are closely watching the El Niño phenomenon developing over the Pacific Ocean, expected to be the “strongest in living memory.” El Niño typically drives global temperatures higher and can exacerbate the risk of extreme weather events worldwide. Although this does not guarantee severe conditions in the UK, Jeremy Parr from Natural Resources Wales (NRW) pointed out that it contributes to growing concerns for the months ahead.
Parr highlighted that while significant investment goes into flood defenses, it is impossible to prevent all flooding entirely. He urged people to mentally prepare for worst-case scenarios, encouraging them to consider what actions they would take if flooding occurred near their homes. Reflecting on recurring feedback to NRW, many who suffered catastrophic floods had never experienced such incidents before and thought it wouldn’t happen to them. NRW recommends that residents check flood risks by postcode online, sign up for flood warnings, and follow advice on how to respond if flooding is forecast. Although the flood warning system covers over 180,000 properties in Wales, only about 27% (48,844 properties) are currently registered to receive alerts, a participation rate Parr described as low. He speculated that some might avoid signing up due to misconceptions about potential impacts on insurance premiums
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