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Peredur Owen Griffiths, who represents Plaid Cymru, is one of four regional Senedd Members serving the South Wales East region.

The devastation wreaked by Storm Bert has been heartbreaking to see. Communities throughout my region have been affected by the freakish downpour we had over the course of 24 hours.

One of the hardest hit areas was Bedwas, where the village square was flooded and the A468 road was closed for some time. The water damaged nearby cottages and entered the cellars of the local rugby club.

Worst hit was the Fisherman’s Rest pub, where the river cascaded over the top of the retaining wall around its car park wall and entered the premises.

It was heartbreaking to see the pub’s tables and chairs floating around inside as the landlord had worked so hard to bring the pub back to life after being completely flooded during Storm Dennis four years ago.

He has now said that the pub will not reopen – and who can blame him after history repeated itself so soon? If this remains the case it will be a body blow for the local community as it is a focal point, serves good food and hosts popular events like the Sunday evening quiz.

I travelled around much of Monday surveying the damage that the storm had caused just 24 hours earlier. Perhaps the most alarming aspect was the coal tip slide at Cwmtillery.

Whilst much of the inky-black muck and debris had been removed thanks to a Herculean effort through the evening by a combination of local authority and local volunteers, it was still a few feet deep outside some houses the following afternoon.

This event needs to act as a wake-up call to both Labour governments in Wales and Westminster that we cannot prevaricate any longer when it comes to coal tip safety. I find it hard to fathom that the Labour government in Wales were proudly hailing this week that they got all the money they asked for from Westminster when it comes to coal tip safety.

The £25m that was requested and received in the recent budget will not touch the sides of what is needed across Wales. We have a lot of category C and D tips throughout Caerphilly County Borough that are within close proximity of many, many homes.

Following last weekend’s events in Cwmtillery, people living in the shadows of our coal tips will be sleeping a little uneasier during future storms.   

The silver lining in the dark cloud heralded by Storm Bert was the community spirit that has shone through. People rallied around those affected by the floods to lessen its impact. This was typified by what I saw at Blackwood Rugby Club earlier this week.

Like the Fisherman’s Rest pub, the club was badly flooded during Storm Dennis and had battled back strongly. Unfortunately, the entire club was under water on Sunday, leaving new carpets sodden and a new £200,000 4G pitch ruined.

The main grass pitch was also churned up by the debris that the swollen Sirhowy River brought with it. By late afternoon on Monday, the club was looking so much better thanks to the efforts of scores of volunteers.

Debris had been cleared from the pitch, the clubhouse had been pumped free of water, dehumidifiers were installed and rooms were being systemically deep-cleaned one-by-one.

It was inspiring to see what a community club means to so many people – and I know Blackwood RFC is not an exception here as these efforts have been replicated at many of the rugby clubs hit by Storm Bert.

For someone who represents a political party where the power of community is so important and such an intrinsic part of our DNA, amid the sadness and tragedy of what I saw in flood-hit areas, I was also overwhelmed, inspired and heartened by the response and humanity of ordinary people.