Storm Bert batters the UK with high winds, persistent rain and flooding

Strong winds and torrential downpours from Storm Bert have caused devastating flooding impacts across the UK.  

More than 80% of November’s rainfall fell over the weekend in as little as 12 hours, which led to a major incident in South Wales and over 60 flood warnings issued by the Environment Agency. 

Hundreds of homes were flooded, with roads turned into rivers and winds of up to 82mph recorded across parts of the UK. At least five deaths have been reported in England and Wales since the storm hit, including a dog walker who was swept away in a river after excessive flooding. 

Thousands of homes were also left without power as the storm swept across the UK. 

In Hebden Bridge, Yorkshire, an old World War Two alarm system was put in place to alert locals of the increasing risk of flooding, with many of their roads submerged over the weekend.  

More than 300 flights set to depart from UK airports were cancelled during Storm Bert and flooding has closed multiple rail routes across the country due to flooded tracks or blown over trees and damage to the rail infrastructure. 

The Welsh Conversative leader has addressed the problem his country is currently facing in a statement about the impact of Storm Bert.  

Andrew RT Davies said: “Given that these areas, such as Pontypridd, were so badly impacted in 2020, we have to ask why lessons have not been learned. It’s very important that the Welsh Government steps up now, pulls agencies together, and begins to provide the solutions and crucially the funding to deal with the impact of this flooding and to make sure we are better prepared when an incident like this happens again.” 

The impacts of the storm, which were exacerbated by further heavy rainfall, demonstrate huge vulnerabilities in infrastructure across the UK and our preparedness for dealing with flood impacts.