Storm Babet causes nearly record flood levels in Powys

In the day after torrential rain caused by the storm, Powys woke up today (October 21) to closed roads and businesses and residents in one village being asked to prepare to evacuate by Powys County Council after flood levels nearly reached record levels.

A severe flood warning was put in place in Llandrinio which is classified as being a “danger to life” this came after water levels on the River Severn were only a few centimetres from beating the record level set in 2000.

According to Natural Resources Wales the warning was issued after local flood defences started overtopping. Powys County Council put out a warning to residents to “stay in a safe place with a means of escape” and to “be ready to leave your home”.

Flood warnings were in place for the River Severn, the River Vyrnwy and Ledan Brook in Welshpool.

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There were less severe flood alerts are in force for the River Wye, the Dyfi catchment, the Upper Severn catchment, The lower Severn catchment, the upper Teme catchment and the Vyrnwy catchment.

According to Powys County Council’s Highways department the floods were cause by nearly a months’ worth of rain falling in just 24 hours.

There were one of many forms of disruption caused by the storm with multiple roads closed due to flooding including multiple parts of the A483. This led to Powys County Council advising residents in the north of the county not to travel unless necessary.

In statement online the council said: “Roads within North Powys remain closed due to flooding and even though water levels may have dropped in some areas there is still the potential for hazards to be present.

“Please do not ignore road closed signs and flood signs placed out for your safety.

“Our staff are working extremely hard to deal with the impact from Storm Babet and we urge residents to not travel unless it is vital.”

Public transport was also disrupted with train travel across Powys cancelled and many bus services running a limited service.

Multiple businesses and landmarks were closed for the day including Powis Castle who said they would “assess conditions over the weekend regarding opening on Sunday”.