Five years since the February 2020 floods: Reflecting on the past, preparing for the future

February 2020 was a month that many in Wales will never forget. Within a matter of weeks, back-to-back storms battered our communities, bringing record-breaking rainfall and river levels, widespread flooding, and devastation to homes, businesses, and infrastructure.

Five years on, Jeremy Parr, NRW’s Head of Flood and Incident Risk Management, reflects on the impact these storms – and others since - have had on our communities, the progress we have made, and the growing need for everyone to adapt to a future where extreme weather is becoming the norm.

The devastation of February 2020

In February 2020, we experienced the overwhelming impacts of some of the most significant flood events seen in Wales since 1979. After a very wet and prolonged winter, that February was the wettest February on record, ever. Some areas in Wales received up to four times the long-term monthly average.

Storm Ciara arrived first, sweeping across Wales on 8-9 February, bringing torrential rain and strong winds. The greatest impacts were seen in North Wales, especially in the catchments of the Rivers Conwy, Elwy and Upper Dee, as river levels surged, and homes and businesses flooded.

Just days later, Storm Dennis followed on 15-16 February, bringing even heavier and more persistent rainfall across the top of the South Wales Valleys and Brecon Beacons, with some locations along rivers such as the Taff, Rhondda, Usk, and Wye reaching their highest levels since records began.

During the peak of the storm, 900 tonnes of water per second was flowing down the River Taff – enough to fill an Olympic sized swimming pool in just 3 seconds. 61 Flood Alerts, 89 Flood Warnings and two Severe Flood Warnings were in force.

More than 3,000 properties in Wales were flooded during these storms. Transport networks were severely disrupted, and landslides added to the destruction. Communities were left devasted, with homes and businesses flooded, and livelihoods massively impacted.

It is not just the immediate impacts, as clean up and repair takes months and years, and the mental health impacts on people can be really difficult and long-lasting. Everyone’s thoughts go out to those that experienced the devastation then and in subsequent flooding events – it is a horrible experience.

What Natural Resources Wales has done since 2020

Our dedicated staff work day-in day-out to do our best to manage the risks from flooding from the big rivers and the sea. Colleagues in Local Authorities likewise do their best to manage the risks from local watercourses and drains. We can’t stop the rain, and we have to work within the budgets we have, but we do our utmost to help reduce the risks. 

Our flood defences prevented 19,000 properties from flooding in February 2020, and it is important we continue to look after the 500km of defences that reduce risk to over 90,000 properties in Wales, so that network does its job when it is needed. 

We’ve invested £105m over the last five years in capital works across Wales, in areas like flood defences and in our flood detection, forecasting and warning systems.

We’ve produced new information on where is at risk and made it more accessible on our website. We’ve also bolstered our procedures and practices, so that we are as ready as we can be to respond when flooding is forecast, and we are sharing key information that others need.

We are part of a network of partners, with Local Authorities and emergency services, who prepare and respond to flooding, using the best available data from organisations like the Met Office and from our own flood models.

The future: adapting to a changing climate

The challenges are enormous though. Climate change is real and it’s happening. We are seeing more frequent and more severe extreme weather events. We’ve seen it again in recent months with the devastating impacts of Storm Bert, which impacted many of the same communities as Storm Dennis in 2020. Our thoughts and sympathies again go out to those impacted.

Whilst we will continue to invest in defences to help lessen the impacts, we can’t simply build our way out of this problem. We will never be able to stop all flooding, and it is so important that we, as a nation and as communities, get better at preparing for it and managing it when it happens.

We undertook a review of the flooding in 2020 and published our findings in October of that year. The report is available here: Natural Resources Wales / February 2020 flood review: Storm Ciara and Dennis. There were many specific recommendations that we have delivered against – whilst recognising too that many elements need continuous investment and improvement. 

The report also spoke about some ‘big issues’ that are as true today as they were then. Flooding happens for so many reasons and affects so many aspects of life that it simply isn’t the case of it being down to one authority to manage the problem away. It is far more complicated than that.

We do need big thinking from a wide range of organisations with responsibilities about how we manage huge quantities of water in whole catchments, how we make space for water and how we certainly don’t make the problem worse by for example putting new housing developments in flood plains.

Whilst there are clearly tasks for organisations like NRW and Local Authorities to lead on, others need to play their part. The housing sector and developers for example need to build more resilient homes and businesses so that when flooding and coastal change happens, it causes less harm to people and property, and life can get back to normal sooner. Infrastructure providers like water and energy companies and transport authorities need to build flood resilience into their plans and investment.

We also need to work more effectively with landowners, incentivising them to deliver nature-based solutions that deliver a range of benefits that reduce flood risk, and looking upstream to make space for the huge quantities of water we are seeing during floods.

But there are also actions that communities, business and householders can take too:

• Knowing your flood risk – Check if your home or business is in a flood-prone area by going to our website and entering your postcode. The first step is being aware of the risk – 1 in 7 properties in Wales is at risk of flooding.
• Sign up to free flood warnings - if you are at risk, and there is a flood warning service in your area (it isn’t everywhere, we have to prioritise communities at greatest risk) then sign up for free flood warnings on our website.
• If you want someone to talk to about this, phone Flood Line (0345 9881188)
• Being prepared – Have a flood plan, know what to do if a warning is issued, and take steps to protect you, your families and your property.  There is a lot of information on our website about flood plans, and practical steps you can take before, during and after a flood.
• Working together – Get together to produce a Community Flood Plan, and support those in your neighbourhood. Get involved with local flood groups and support initiatives to manage flood risk at a local level.
• Taking climate action – Reducing emissions and supporting sustainable land management will help lessen the long-term risks of climate change-driven flooding.

We all have a role to play, and there is a lot to do. But by working together, we can create a Wales that is stronger and better prepared for future climate challenges.

To find out how to prepare for flooding, visit Natural Resources Wales / Flooding.