A major incident has been declared as emergency services work to rescue people from the town
Hundreds of people have been left counting the cost after serious flooding left the centre of a Welsh town under water. A major incident was declared after “severe and widespread flooding” hit Monmouth in the early hours of Saturday.
Homes and businesses have been evacuated as a result of the serious flooding, with people living and working in the area left counting the cost of the deluge. You can get all the latest updates on the incident here.
One woman has described the “surreal” moment she found her back garden submerged under a torrent of flood water – and how the first job was saving her chickens.
Artist Anna Vigurs was woken at 6am on Saturday to find her Monmouth garden under water after a brook which runs behind the property burst its banks.
Anna said: “My husband went down to look at the river, which is quite near us, last night and it was high but we didn’t panic. So we went to bed.
Anna Vigurs, aged 42, lives within stones throw of river.(Image: Richard Swingler)
“He woke me at 6am today saying you’ve got to get up and rescue the chickens! We leapt out of bed and went outside.
“It was completely surreal seeing the garden under water with things just bobbing about. The water – brown and full of the detritus of nature – was up to my thighs.”
Anna said the couple’s first priority was getting the chickens in the coop at the bottom of the garden to safety – the birds were wet and cold but unharmed – and then attention turned to her artist studio which was also flooded.
Anna Vigurs’ flooded back garden (Image: Richard Swingler)
She said the flood water has damaged a lot of her stock and materials in the studio along with precious books, prints and art work, and the race is now on to dry out and salvage what she can. The flood has also ruined the equipment her husband uses for his gardening business.
Anna said: “We’ve been here for 11 years and have never seen anything like this before. We feel quite lucky the water didn’t come into the house. We got off quite lightly compared to some – it could have been a lot worse.
“The water is receding slowly but the ground is saturated and there is nowhere for it to go. It looks like it is going to be a long week as we clean up. And the chickens will have to sleep in the kitchen.”
Joyce Voicey, 89, who lives at the Homeforge care home, said eight cars in the car park were damaged by floodwater. She said her vehicle was among the cars damaged in the “terrific storm”.
Flooding causes significant damage at care home
Jordan Lewis, aged 31, and her dog Django were rescued by fire and rescue crews after being trapped all night inside her high street flat.
She said she has had hardly had any sleep and will stay with her sister in Newport until she is able to return home.
Jordan lewis and her dog Django rescued by the fire service in Monmouth flooding
Storm Claudia which swept through Wales on Friday and into Saturday morning. South Wales Fire and Rescue Service declared a major incident in the town in the early hours of Saturday morning and a major rescue operation is underway in the town to get people to safety involving firefighters, Gwent Police, the Welsh Ambulance Service, mountain rescue volunteers, and coastguard units.
Four Natural Resources Wales severe flood warnings – indicating a risk of a “significant risk to life and significant disruption to the community” – are in place along sections of the River Monnow and River Wye.