Our response to Storm Ciara and Storm Dennis
Our review of the February 2020 floods
The Met Office’s confirmation that February 2020 was the wettest February on record will come as no surprise to the communities that endured the devastating effects of the exceptional rainfall and flooding at that time.
Storms Ciara, Dennis and Jorge arrived on the back of a very wet winter, and the resulting flood waters impacted 3,130 properties right across Wales.
For those homes and businesses affected, this was a deeply personal tragedy, and our thoughts continue to be with those still recovering and rebuilding.
We have since reviewed our response to the storms, focussing specifically on our flood incident management operations and looking at how current practices we adopt in the management of the NRW land estate could be modified to reduce the risk of flooding.
We published the outcome of these reviews on 22 October 2020.
February 2020 Floods in Wales: Natural Resources Wales’ Response
February 2020 Floods in Wales: Flood Event Data Summary
February 2020 Floods in Wales: Flood Incident Management Review
February 2020 Floods in Wales: Land Estate Management Review
February 2020 Floods in Wales: Flood Recovery Report
Our Storymap tells the story of the exceptional storms in February and the outcomes of our reviews
My property has been impacted by a flood
- Do not do anything that may endanger your health and safety
- Contact your insurance company and follow their advice
- If you rent your property, contact your landlord and your contents insurance company as soon as possible
- Contact your local authority if you do not have insurance and follow their advice
- Follow the advice from your local authority about waste clean up
- Flooding can have an impact on your physical and mental health, please remember that advice is available from a range of organisations
Find out more about what to do after a flood.
Financial support
If your home or business has been affected, you may be able to receive financial support to get you back on your feet.
The Welsh Government has stated that if your home was flooded during February 2020 you can claim for financial help.
- You may be eligible for an Emergency Assistance Payment grant from the Welsh Government.
- Turn2us is a national charity providing practical help to people who are struggling financially.
- Farmers and farm workers may be eligible to apply for an emergency fund from the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RABI). To find out more, call their freephone helpline 0808 281 9490.
Local information
Your Local Authority can advise you on:
- Community Flood Recovery Grants
- Emergency/alternative accommodation
- Council Tax exemptions
- Waste collections
- What to do with sandbags after a flood (a contaminated sandbag is one that has been touched by flood water, sewage, oil or fuel). This now needs to be treated as contaminated waste
Find contact details for your Local Authority.
Beware of scams
It is important to be aware of rogue traders. If you require specific advice your local authority’s trading standards department and local police force will be able to help you.
You can also contact Citizens Advice. Their Consumer Helpline number is 0808 223 1133 and their Welsh Speaking service is 0808 223 1144.
Here are some general pieces of advice:
- speak to your insurance company first
- always check identification - legitimate callers will be happy to wait outside your property while you call their organisation to verify their identification
- use sites like Trustmark to find registered tradespeople
- get several quotes for any work
- check trade body approval or certification
- don't not feel pressured to commit on the day
If you believe you have been scammed, you can report it to Action Fraud. Report online to Action Fraud or call on 0300 123 2040.
Investigating flooding events
Flooding can have several sources – from rivers, tides, sewerage networks or simply when the ground cannot hold any more water. Therefore, we will need to work closely with our partners in local authorities and the emergency services to fully investigate the flooding events and this will take time.
To help our investigations and to gather information, please send any dated photos with specific locations taken during the incident of where the water reached, where the river burst its bank or details of whether a defence overtopped to enquiries@naturalresourceswales.gov.uk.
Please note we may not be able to respond individually however we will review and collate all the information provided.
Working in or around a river: temporary measures for floods in Wales
In response to the unprecedented weather and flooding, we have implemented support for emergency repair work in or near main rivers.
Register for Flood Alerts and Flood Warnings
You can sign up for free flood warnings.
If you think you have registered for the service but did not receive a Flood Warning or a Flood Alert, please get in touch with us so that we can check if you are registered with your up to date contact details.
More information and support
You can find details of organisations who can offer help and support on our what to do before, during and after a flood pages.
Contact us
If you have a general enquiry or want to report an incident please call us on 0300 065 3000.
You can also find more information by calling the 24/7 Floodline service 0345 988 1188.