Storm Herminia has caused severe disruption in Wales, with hundreds of homes left without power and flood alerts issued in several locations as rain persisted in the region. The Met Office’s heavy rain alert remains in place across the country until the end of Monday. South and west Wales were the hardest hit: at least 700 homes were plunged into darkness on Sunday due to the heavy downpour and power outages continued through Monday. Wales’s Natural Resources office, NRW, has issued 15 flood alerts with warnings of possible flooding of roads and buildings. The NRW said that many rivers and waterways are reported to be very high and expected to peak during Monday.
The Met Office alerted areas that could be affected by the heavy rain and warned of the possibility of flooding in several parts of Wales such as the Brecon Beacons and the mountains of Snowdonia. Local police have warned residents to be cautious as several roads have been closed due to the fast rising river levels and a warning has been issued in the Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire areas. The National Grid said, as of Sunday, that 13 power cuts had affected around 773 properties. Merlin’s Bridge in Pembrokeshire, Splott in Cardiff and Aberporth in Ceredigion were among the worst affected areas.
The storm hit just days after several parts of Wales were weathered by Storm Éowyn, which caused similar widespread disruption. On Friday and Saturday, Storm Éowyn’s gale-force winds up to 93 mph cut power in many areas, causing several rail disruptions and travel delays. Médecins Sans Frontières warned of prolonged power outages, causing access difficulties to vital medical care as well as an increased risk of infections due to the lack of heat in affected areas. These back-to-back storms are a significant test for the UK flood defence system and highlight the urgent need to invest in climate resilience and renewable energy as Wales faces potentially unprecedented storms more regularly in the future.
The country’s environment is vulnerable to extreme weather conditions, and many people, particularly residents of flood-prone regions, have already voiced their concerns about the adverse effects of climate changes in their lives and homes. The accelerating problem of global warming and climate change has prompted warnings of more frequent and severe weather events. The Welsh authorities have pledged £350m to develop infrastructure to tackle potential flood risk along the River Taff in Cardiff and £150m to reduce the country’s carbon footprint and reach zero carbon emissions by 2050. However, the Welsh government and the UK as a whole must take strides to shape a coherent and effective national climate policy
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