FIRE CREWS were hard at work this weekend tackling a number of floods across West Wales.
The River Towy burst its banks in Carmarthen, flooding land and vehicles near the Quay. In Abergwili the floodgate was closed to stop water from entering High Street.
Crews from Carmarthen and Llandeilo worked overnight on Saturday in the Pontargothi area, and made ‘steady progress’ pumping water away from properties.
Elsewhere in the county, fire crews spent more than eight hours in the centre of Cynwyl Elfed pumping water away from properties.
Three people had to be rescued from a car near Spydders Bridge on Saturday night by crews from Kidwelly and a wading team, as well as a tractor driver who was on the scene, and Cardigan crews released one person from a car that was trapped by flood water in Llechryd, Pembrokeshire.
On Sunday, Lampeter crews dealt with flooding in the Llanybydder area, and a Carmarthen crew attended after flooding in the Tregunnor area. In Llandysul, crews attended a vehicle which was stuck in flood water.
Following a number of stuck vehicles, MAWWFRS issued a warning to drivers. Chris Margetts, Head of Protection and Prevention said:
“Don’t drive through deep water. If you are unsure of the water depth just don’t do it, you are putting yourself and others at unnecessary risk:
- Just one foot or 30cm of moving water can float your car;
- An eggcup-full of water going into your engine is enough to wreck it;
- Three-quarters of cars that get stuck in flood water are written off.
“Flood water can be deceptively powerful – it can literally rip up the road surface and dislodge manhole covers and kerbstones – and its depth and flow rate can quickly change with the weather.”
Heavy rain is set to continue this week, with weather warnings in place on Tuesday (Dec 22). Wednesday is set to be a brighter day, but Thursday and Friday see the rain returning, with strong winds and a risk of gales.
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