First Minister says flood defences protected thousands
Eluned Morgan made the comments in the Senedd on Tuesday afternoon
The First Minister of Wales has insisted flood defences protected thousands of homes after Storm Bert battered the country.
Eluned Morgan said fewer homes were flooded over the weekend than in previous years, insisting a "significant number" of people were protected.
However, she said better flood warnings will be needed in the future.
A total of 433 properties were impacted across Wales, as well as infrastructure, after the substantial wind and rain brought by Storm Bert.
Baroness Morgan used First Minister's Questions on Tuesday to announce new financial support for those whose homes were flooded over the weekend.
The funding will allow affected households to receive grants of £500, or £1000 for those without insurance.
The First Minister also faced calls from Plaid Cymru to demand more funding from Westminster to improve coal tip safety, but she said it would be "difficult" to spend more than the £25 million given this year.
She insisted lessons had been learned since Storm Dennis in 2020, with £300 million having been invested in defences and support.
"I think that it is important to note - particularly in places like Rhondda Cynon Taff, for example, where last time about 2,000 homes were affected - this time around 150 homes were affected," Baroness Morgan said.
"That is a significant number of people who were protected as a result of the investment that went in by the Welsh Government - thousands of people were protected because of that investment.
"I accept that that is very little comfort to the people who were affected, and I know how devastating, just before Christmas, this must be for them, but we did learn lessons, and we have put in massive investment."
Baroness Morgan described it as a "devastating weekend for many" and said there will be further lessons learnt, particularly over whether Natural Resources Wales (NRW) could have put better flood warnings in place.
NRW has come under criticism after the flooding, with some residents in Pontypridd saying warnings only came after the River Taff broke its banks.
Baroness Morgan said: "NRW issued 131 alerts and warnings, including two severe flood warnings, with over 95,000 messages sent and 46,000-plus customers being reached. So they did quite a lot.
"The question is, could they have done more? And that is something, clearly, that will need to be analysed."
Baroness Morgan's comments followed questions from Andrew RT Davies, leader of the Welsh Conservatives, who said there could have been more preventative measures in place with greater warning.
Mr RT Davis argued there had been a "failure to learn the lessons and implement an alert process" after Storm Dennis, with the same streets affected in both floods.
"Many people indicated in some of the most severely affected areas in Pontypridd that the first that they realised the flooding was taking place was when neighbours were going from house to house banging on the doors," he said.
Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth said coal tips, like the one in Cwmtillery, which saw a landslip cover homes in mud and sludge, needed "to be made safe and urgently" and more money was needed from Westminster.
Baroness Morgan said it was a 10 to 15-year project and "not something you can put in place overnight".
She said: "There will be limits in terms of being able to absorb additional money because there will be limits in terms of expertise, equipment.
"So if they gave us the money, it'd be very difficult for us to use it all up because of the lack of expertise, which we need to build up."
The First Minister said she was "very confident" more funding would be available in the future.
After FMQs, Mr ap Iorwerth said: "Hot on the heels of admitting she only asked for £25 million towards coal tip safety, the First Minister now says she was unwilling to ask for the estimated £600 million required to undertake the work.
"This shows a deeply worrying lack of urgency by a First Minister who is clearly out of touch with the fears and anxieties of communities living in the shadow of these dangerous tips."
Deputy First Minister Huw Irranca-Davies announced the Welsh Government will set up a new public body to oversee disused coal tips.
He said ministers are "absolutely committed" to improving coal tip safety across Wales.