Hannah Blythyn, minister for environment, who visited Llandysul to witness the damage caused by Storm Callum first hand, revealed that up to 160mm of rainfall was recorded in a 24-hour period, more than the monthly average for this time of the year.

“Our current estimates are that 218 properties across Wales suffered internal flooding, of which 195 were homes, the majority of these being across the southern half of the country,” she said.

She added that following a major flood event, local authorities have a statutory requirement to investigate its cause and impacts and provide recommendations going forward.

“I know some local authorities are considering a hardship scheme and are already discussing with finance officials whether Welsh Government can assist with emergency financial assistance,” she said. “This government would like to give that our full consideration.”

Jeremy Parr, head of flood and incident risk management for Natural Resources Wales, said Storm Callum was “an unwelcome reminder” of the damage that severe weather could do. 

“The weekend storm caused 80 properties to flood across south-west Wales and led to major disruption of businesses and transport across the whole of the country,” he added.

“The River Teifi at Llandysul reached its highest level since records began in 1971 and the Towy above Carmarthen was at its highest since 1987.

“After any major flooding event there are lessons to be learned and Storm Callum is no exception, so we will review what took place and how we responded to identify where improvements can be made.

“We won’t just look at the flood defence network, but also at our incident response and our warning and informing before, during and after the incident.”

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