Mid & West Wales Fire & Rescue 22 Jan 2021 Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service flooding incidents 21st January 2021

Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service have attended 10 flooding incidents in the past 24 hours, 07:50am 21/01/2021 to 07:50am 22/01/21.

At 12:23pm yesterday, Thursday 21^st January 2021, Joint Fire Control received the first call to a flooding incident in Skewen, Neath

A major incident was declared after at least eight streets, including Goshen Park, flooded and a large number of properties needed to be evacuated.

Everyone who was evacuated had been found accommodation for the night, estimated at around 80 residents.

There have been no reported injuries and we ask people to continue to avoid the area.

The cause of the flooding is being investigated and the water level will continue to be monitored.

The incident is ongoing.

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At 07:52am, 21/01/2021, a Swift Water Rescue Team removed one male from a vehicle that was stuck in floodwater in Pensarn Road, Carmarthen.

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At 10:19am, 21/01/2021, crews from Aberystwyth, Llanfyllin and Welshpool rescued a driver from a heavy goods vehicle, that was stuck in floodwater, in the Llanymynech area.

A Swift Water Rescue Team was deployed to rescue the male driver and a swift water rescue boat, a rescue sled and depth poles were used during the rescue.

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At 12:31pm, 21/01/2021, crews from Welshpool and Aberystwyth rescued another driver from a heavy goods vehicle in Pool Quay, Welshpool.

Area Manager Simon Jenkins, Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service said “I must thank our operational crews, who have, and continue to, work to the utmost level of professionalism in difficult and often dangerous conditions. I am also thankful to our staff at Joint Fire control for their work in answering emergency calls and supporting our firefighters during this busy period.

I would like to take this opportunity to stress the importance to drivers to not drive through floodwater. It is just not worth the risk.

The forecast is predicting wintry showers for the next few days, so I would urge all drivers to carefully consider whether their journey is an essential one and, if they must make a journey, to be vigilant on the roads.”