'Lowest' Met Office weather alert for Wales questioned in wake of Storm Bert floods

Questions have been asked why there was only a yellow weather warning, for North Wales, after Storm Bert battered the region, Wales and the rest of the UK. The Met Office has defended its decision to issue a yellow alert for Wales, the lowest of the three warnings that can be issued, with amber, the middle and red the highest level, as Natural Resources Wales also launches a review, following devastating floods.

However the storm saw roads closed across the region due to flooding; ten people - including five children - had to be rescued from a house in Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog, near Llangollen, following a landslide; and tragically a body was found, following a massive search for 75-year-old Brian Perry, who went missing with his dog near Trefriw as flood waters rose. This morning (Monday) 20 flood warnings and alerts remained in place for North and mid Wales. Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox.

Yesterday the Leader of Rhondda Cynon Taf council, Andrew Morgan, slammed the Met Office over their weather warnings ahead of Storm Bert which saw flooding devastation hit the county borough. Cllr Morgan believes the yellow warning should should have been higher.

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Speaking in a press conference yesterday (Sunday, November 24) Cllr Morgan said he was "amazed" there wasn't a red weather warning, after a major incident was declared for the county. He said: "In terms of the weather warning I am amazed there was only a yellow weather warning issued.

"We absolutely thought on Saturday… when we were preparing for the possibility of an amber weather warning, it didn’t come. We took the decision ourselves to step up our resources. I’m surprised there wasn’t a red warning. I do think that will need to be reviewed."

Andrew RT Davies MS, Leader of the Welsh Conservatives, has also expressed concern. He said: "Tragically, one person has died in North Wales, and I send my thoughts and prayers to his family. While Wales can be rebuilt, this man’s family have lost a loved one.

“We must ask why only a yellow flood warning was issued when the forecast was so dire. And given that these areas, such as Pontypridd, were so badly impacted in 2020, we have to ask why lessons have not been learnt.

“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.”

In response to criticisms, the Met Office said there were "a number of warnings in place ahead of the system reaching the UK" and that the warnings "highlighted the potential for homes and businesses to flood with fast flowing or deep floodwater was possible, causing a danger to life."

Simon Brown, Services Director at the Met Office told WalesOnline on Sunday evening: "Our thoughts are with those who are currently affected with the impacts caused by Storm Bert in South Wales, as well as the rest of the country. As always with a named storm, a full assessment of the forecast and warning strategy will take place with our partners. But this assessment is carried out post event, therefore, I would expect this to take place over the coming days.

"Storm Bert was well forecast, 48 hrs in advance, with a number of warnings in place ahead of the system reaching the UK. We work closely with partners to assess the potential risks of extreme weather and the warnings covering Wales highlighted the potential for homes and businesses to flood with fast flowing or deep floodwater was possible, causing a danger to life."

Natural Resources Wales is also holding a review into the flooding to see if lessons can be learned. Sian Williams, head of operations north west for NRW, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme today (Monday), the agency would look into whether any part of its data gathering for the storm had not been done correctly.

Asked if NRW gave Welsh residents enough time to prepare for Storm Bert with its flood alerts, Ms Williams said: “Coming on to today now and into the next few days and weeks, every event that we have we do reviews of them, and we will be looking at that.

“That is a report that we’ve had from a few different places, saying that their people didn’t have enough warning yesterday morning, so absolutely that is something that we need to look at. Did something go wrong? Were the river levels that we use as triggers set in the wrong place?

"We don’t know yet what the timeline was, but it is important that we review it, that we look at it, that we learn those lessons. If we need to do it sooner, then that’s definitely something that we will look at doing.”

Speaking about the devastating floods Welsh First Minister Eluned Morgan said it had been “a really difficult weekend”. She said: “I think this is the second time that many of those have suffered as a result of the storm. There’s been huge investments since the last storm hit, so we’ve managed to protect lots more properties than last time. But obviously this is absolutely devastating just before Christmas for those people who have been impacted.”

The Met Office has been asked if it would like to respond further.

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