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

I got the opportunity in the Senedd this week to raise the enormous impact Storm Bert had on the communities I represent.

This bout of freak weather in November of last year wreaked havoc throughout the region of South Wales East.

It caused a large sinkhole in the back garden of a widowed pensioner in Islwyn, which I helped to get sorted out when the local authority refused to repair it. This was despite it being adjacent to a public alleyway and the problem quite possibly emanating from there originally.

I will never forget the scenes I witnessed in Cwmtillery the morning after a coal tip slide left homes awash with a foul, jet-black, knee-deep slurry. What happened in Cwmtillery was a timely reminder that what was once deemed safe in our communities can no longer be regarded so due to the frequent bouts of extreme weather we face because of the climate crisis.

This is why it is imperative that Westminster coughs up the necessary cash – believed to be in the region of £600m – to remediate all the category C and D tips in our Welsh communities. Afterall, the British state reaped the profits from the coal industry so it is only right that they foot the associated costs of its vital safeguarding.

The specific issue I raised in the Senedd this week was about the future proofing of community facilities from freak weather in the future. I used the example of the many rugby clubs – which are often very important community hubs – that were flooded during Storm Bert.

I mentioned the cases of Newport HSOB and Blackwood rugby club, which were left under more than 2ft of water when nearby rivers burst their banks.

I visited Blackwood RFC during the immediate aftermath and saw the devastation firsthand that was caused. Club officials tell me that the flood cost them £233,260. This does not factor in smaller costs so the actual cost is likely to be higher.

By way of contrast, the club has obtained £22,099 in grants and donations – which is therefore less than a tenth of what they have lost. The losses that clubs like Blackwood and Newport HSOB suffered came after being badly hit by Storm Dennis and therefore being without insurance, as companies would not offer protection again after one devastating flood.

During questions in plenary, I called for a statement by the Labour Government about what they could do to protect community facilities, including rugby clubs, against the growing threat that freak weather poses.

I said that it is not an exaggeration to say that some rugby clubs – and some community facilities – could not sustain the consequences of another Storm Dennis or Storm Bert after depleting their reserves.

If the Labour Government was able to provide some reassurance on how we best protect these vital community hubs – with a view to perhaps establishing a fund for flood mitigation works – our communities would be able to collectively breathe a sigh of relief.

Before I sign off, I wanted to comment on how disappointing it is that the Labour-run Caerphilly County Borough Council decided to ignore the many representations that were made during their consultation on the closure of ten libraries.

As I commented when the news broke, these libraries are not just places from which to borrow books – they are quiet, friendly and warm places for children to study when there is no peace at home.

For anyone without a computer or internet access, they are also invaluable. For the Labour administration to close every single library on their hit list is deeply disappointing. It shows that they have not listened to the many, many people – which includes a large cohort of children – that opposed the closures during the consultation.