South Wales quarry overflows, whilst region battles major floods amid Storm Henk
Travel alerts are in place and a weather warning has been issued by the Met Office
Last updated 2nd Jan 2024
Much of South Wales has been bracing itself all day for the aftermaths of the first storm of 2024 - Storm Henk.
The Met Office issued an amber weather alert for much of the region this morning - until 8 o'clock tonight (January 2nd).
The impact has been seen far and wide across much of our part of the world - with some coastal areas seeing winds reaching as high as 70 or 80 miles an hour, with the amber Met Office alert for wind in force across two of the region's major cities - Cardiff and Swansea.
Forecasters said there is a good chance that power cuts could occur, with probable damage to buildings, travel disruption and a chance of injury or loss of life from flying debris.
The Met Office said: "Storm Henk will bring a spell of very strong winds, causing disruption to travel and utilities.
"Heavy rain falling on saturated ground is likely to cause some travel disruption."
Well there has been disruption on the roads and the rails - with Great Western Railway urging passengers to travel 'as early as possible', whilst South Wales Fire and Rescue have been asking people to consider whether their journeys out and about are actually 'essential'.
The Prince of Wales Bridge has also been closed for a number of hours because of the strong winds, whilst the Natural Resources Wales currently have a severe flood warning in Tenby, and many other red warnings also in force.
The severe flood alert means there's a 'significant risk to life' - with the river Ritec continuing to rise.
This comes just a number of months since a local holiday park was evacuated - South Wales holiday park evacuated as the impact of Storm Ciarán unfolds
Natural Resources Wales tell us they're reassuring locals of their commitment to safeguarding the environment - amid a former quarry overflowing with rain.
It's amid Storm Henk - with Ty Llwyd impacted with heavy rainfall - a site that's thought to be storing waste and various chemicals.
Officers say they're undertaking sampling of the site and are carrying out an investigation.
Kirsty Lewis, Senior Environment Officer for Natural Resources Wales said: “At present, heavy rainfall continues across many areas throughout South Wales with multiple weather warnings in place”.
NRW tell us they 'have been made aware of reports of a discharge in the vicinity of Ty Llwyd, Ynysddu, Caerphilly' and add their officers are on site to carry out an investigation and take samples.
Caerphilly Council officers are also in attendance and will be undertaking sampling.
The samples will be analysed in due course and will inform any next steps, with NRW saying they will continue to liaise closely with CCBC and will be consulted on any proposals once they are available.
They say they have developed a 'program of planned investigations' for the river Sirhowy in this vicinity this year, which includes updated fisheries and biological surveys and a sampling programme.
Chief Meteorologist of the Met Office Paul Gundersen said: "Our latest analysis of the forecast shows an increase in the likelihood of very strong wind gusts across parts of southern Wales and England, which is why we have issued this amber warning this morning and named Storm Henk.
"Storm Henk will initially bring very strong winds to the South West of England and southern Wales, with gusts of up to 80mph possible.
"As Storm Henk moves north-eastwards across the south of the UK through Tuesday, the strongest winds will also move eastwards, across the south Midlands, Home Counties and East Anglia through the afternoon and evening."
You can check out flood alerts for your area here.