Council crews deal with fall-out of Storm Ophelia

CARMARTHENSHIRE County Council staff had a busy afternoon and night dealing with the fall-out of storm Ophelia which battered the west coast.

The highways team dealt with 34 separate incidents throughout the county as extreme winds brought down trees, branches and electricity cables well into the early hours of this morning (Tuesday).

During the day the Met Office recorded winds of 75mph on Cefn Sidan sands, but the council received most calls during the evening, with the storm’s intensity seeming to peak between 4pm and 9pm.
Crews attended to clear fallen trees from Glandy Cross to Carmarthen, Llandovery to Llanelli where one tree fell onto a car in Vauxhall Street – thankfully with no injuries.

Electricity cables were brought down in St Clears with damage to property roofs in Water Street, Carmarthen, and Capel Hendre.

All routes were open this morning, but crews are now clearing debris along miles of road.

Cllr Hazel Evans, executive board member for environment, said: “Our frontline crews were out into the early hours of this morning in terrible conditions to clear and re-open roads. Back at base, our duty officers, contact centre staff and Careline agents also dealt with a large number of calls from members of the public. I’d like to thank all staff for their efforts, as well as farmers, landowners and police who helped throughout the storm.”