Rhondda Council declares major incident as floods cause serious disruption

A major incident has been declared in parts of South Wales due to river flooding.

Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council says it will work with emergency services to deal with the flooding caused by Storm Bert.

Chris Bryant, the MP for Rhondda and Ogmore, said: "I am deeply saddened to witness the devastation caused by last night's storm and the severe flooding across our communities.

"The flooding across areas in the Rhondda and Ogmore is unprecedented. I have never seen it on this scale before.

"My team and I are working tirelessly to support those impacted, and I want to assure everyone that the Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council, Bridgend County Borough Council and Dwr Cymru teams are doing everything in their power to respond to this crisis."

More than 100 flood warnings and alerts have been issued across the country, with bridges shut and roads closed.

Rising waters have been reported in several towns, including Pontypridd, Ebbw Vale and Aberdare, with landslides in north Wales.

Videos and pictures being shared online show parts of Pontypridd underwater, with cars submerged and homeowners bailing out their properties next to the River Taff.

The Pontypridd Parkrun Facebook page said: "Our park has been flooded again whilst we do not know the full extent of any damage yet, initial pictures do not look good."

Five adults and five children had to be rescued from a house in Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog, near Llangollen in north Wales, following a landslide on Saturday.

A North Wales Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said all the occupants were being assessed by ambulance services away from the scene "somewhere warm".

In a post on social media, the service said: "Firefighters assisted occupants from a property ... which was flooded with water and debris.

"The property has sustained substantial damage due to the force of the landslide."

It comes after as much as 64.4mm of rain fell in Capel Curig, north Wales, in 12 hours on Saturday and wind gusts of up to 82mph were recorded in the Welsh village.

The Met Office warned Storm Bert is likely to cause "further heavy rain" and flooding for large parts of southern Wales until 1pm on Sunday, with a yellow rain warning in place.

Roads have also seen massive disruption, with the M48 Severn Bridge between Monmouthshire and Gloucestershire closed in both directions due to strong winds.

National Highways has advised motorists to use the M4 Prince of Wales Bridge.

Rail lines have also been affected, with the Conwy Valley line, which runs from Llandudno to Blaenau Ffestiniog, and the Heart of Wales lines - Swansea to Shropshire - are set to be closed for the rest of Sunday.

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