Risk of flooding following prolonged heavy rain in Carmarthenshire

A PROLONGED period of heavy rain and windy conditions are expected to cause disruption and difficult road conditions across Carmarthenshire from 8pm Friday night and Saturday morning.

The Met Office has issued an amber rain warning and Natural Resources Wales are issuing flood alerts and warnings. Significant river and surface water flooding is expected in parts of the county.

Residents and businesses are being urged to stay up to date with weather forecasts and flood alerts and to be prepared to take action if property is in a flood risk area.

Our teams are ready to respond to changing conditions – crews have been diverted to assist with drainage clearance and flood prevention works, and pumps are being deployed to known flooding areas.

Covid safe contingency measures are in place should people need to leave their homes.

People are being urged to follow the Welsh Government’s stay at home message and avoid driving unless absolutely essential, or if they need to leave property affected by flooding.

People are being urged to drive carefully and take particular care on roads, in known flood risk areas, and around rivers and coastlines. Winds are likely to cause leaves and branches to fall on the roads, which can block drains and increase localised surface flooding.

It can be difficult for crews to reach every area of the county during prolonged severe weather. There are a number of things residents can do to help, which will make a big overall difference. These include:

Removing leaves and clearing other debris from private drains and properties
Checking drainage on private properties, and clearing leaves from street gullies where it is possible and safe to do so

Putting sandbags in place where necessary, and at properties which are prone to flooding

Driving sensibly in accordance to the weather and road conditions, and avoiding driving in very poor weather conditions

Checking that vulnerable/elderly neighbours are safe

Be aware, and protect your property against possible flooding:

Check weather forecasts and warnings on the Met Office website

• Check flood guidance and updates on the Natural Resources Wales website

If your property is in imminent threat of flooding, call 01267 234567 until 9pm Friday and between 8am and 4pm Saturday, or 0300 333 2222 at other times to enquire about sandbags. Distribution of sandbags will be prioritised to those most in need, and are in limited supply. We will endeavour to respond to most requests but there may be some delay, particularly for the more widespread or large scale event

In an emergency:

If you are in immediate danger, or your property is flooding, call the emergency services on 999

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From Llanelli Wales. Worked in education and media for most of my career. Now working as a freelance journalist. Interested in World events, politics, education. Specialist area is social and journalistic photography.

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