Council preparing to issue financial support to Storm Bert flood victims

Around 90 homes in Caerphilly County Borough have been affected by Storm Bert flooding, according to the council, which is preparing to distribute financial support to those affected.

The council also estimates around 40 businesses, mainly in Risca, have been hit by flood damage.

All schools are now open following a series of closures earlier this week.

The Welsh Government is funding local authorities to provide grants to households affected by flooding following Storm Bert.

Households without home insurance cover may be eligible for grants of £1,000 and those with existing insurance cover may be able to claim £500.

“Storm Bert caused flooding issues across the region as rivers and drainage infrastructure struggled to cope with the significant volume of rainfall,” a Caerphilly County Borough Council spokesman said.

“Our teams worked around the clock to support the community and we are continuing to work on clean-up and recovery operations. Our thoughts go out to all those whose homes and businesses have been impacted by flooding.”

The council said it will be helping to distribute the Welsh Government’s financial support to flood victims “and is seeking clarity about the process”. 

“We will communicate more details to residents as soon as this is known,” the council said.

The council is also offering to collect flood-damaged carpets and items of furniture from affected residents for free “on this occasion”.

“We are signposting affected businesses to the relevant support that is available to commercial premises affected by flooding,” the council said. “Our staff are undertaking extensive clean-up operations across the county borough this week to help the community recover from the flooding.”

Earlier this week, council leader Sean Morgan said Storm Bert brought “significant challenges across the whole county borough as our rivers, culverts and drainage infrastructure struggled to cope with the huge volume of water”.

Cllr Morgan said the region had been issued a yellow-level weather warning ahead of the weekend – rather than a more serious level – “so we were not expecting the high level of flooding that we actually experienced, although we were proactively clearing priority culverts and drainage gullies ahead of the weekend”.

He added: “In response, our dedicated crews worked around the clock responding to multiple incidents in many communities.

“We saw particularly bad problems in Risca, Ystrad Mynach, Llanbradach, New Tredegar and Blackwood – and our thoughts are with all those whose homes and businesses have been impacted by the flooding.”