Hundreds return home after dam leak evacuation
Monday 11 June 2012
Related articles
More than 600 people had to be evacuated from a Welsh village yesterday over fears that a dam may burst following the weekend's torrential rainfall.
The evacuation of Pennal near Machynlleth, Powys, came as hundreds of people in the Aberystwyth area returned to their homes to count the cost of Saturday's "unprecedented" deluge, which swept through villages and caravan parks causing hundreds of thousands of pounds' worth of damage.
Last night, residents in Pennal were allowed back to their homes after authorities allowed a controlled release of water from a derelict quarry. Gwyn Jones, of North Wales Fire and Rescue Service, said: "We've been able to undertake two releases of water from the reservoir. We were closely monitoring the level of the river, and everything was satisfactory after those two releases.
"Subsequently, contractors and the landowner have created a permanent channel in the reservoir which is allowing the water to dissipate naturally."
The flooding was described as an "unprecedented event" by the Environment Agency of Wales. Villages were flooded by 5ft (1.5m) of water with record-high river levels in parts of Aberystwyth. Twice as much rain fell in 24 hours than normally falls in the whole of June.
More than 1,000 people had been evacuated and 150 residents and holidaymakers in caravan parks had to be rescued. A number of caravans and tents in the Aberystwyth Holiday Park remained cut off from land yesterday.
The North-east of England was also affected by the downpours yesterday. The Durham Regatta was cancelled because of dangerously high water levels on the river Wear.
A spokesman for the Met Office said there would be no let-up in the rain until at least next week, with severe-weather warnings issued for the South of England and Scotland. Heavy downpours were expected today. The rain is expected finally to give way to sunshine towards the end of next week.
The Environment Agency posted 18 flood alerts yesterday, with four in Wales, 10 in the Midlands and four in the North of England.
-
That's some guestlist! Stunning images show huge dynastic wedding between Ultra-Orthodox Jewish families which attracted 25,000 guests
-
'He was always smiling': Lee Rigby named as Woolwich victim
-
Emergency landing at Heathrow sparks further controversy over London airport capacity
-
Two bailed after arrest over Woolwich attack Twitter comments
-
Exclusive: Woolwich killings suspect Michael Adebolajo was inspired by cleric banned from UK after urging followers to behead enemies of Islam
- 1 Pope Francis: Being an atheist is alright as long as you do good
- 2 What, let gays get married? We must be bonkers
- 3 'Something passed underneath us, quite close': Airbus A320 has close encounter with UFO
- 4 Lord of the Sings: Sir Christopher Lee, 91, to release heavy metal album
- 5 Two bailed after arrest over Woolwich attack Twitter comments
Get your summer started with British Military Fitness
BMF is the UK’s biggest and best loved outdoor fitness classes
Visit York
Find out what The Independent's resident travel expert has to say about one of the most beautiful small cities in the world
Making reading fun for kids
Nook is donating eReaders to volunteers at high-need schools and participating in exclusive events throughout the campaign.
Introducing the 'Get Reading' campaign
Get the latest on The Evening Standard's campaign to get London's children reading.
Enter the latest Independent competitions
Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.
Business videos from commercial thought leaders
Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.
Independent Dating
Day In a Page
The man who's eaten everywhere
A Berliner in 1963 – but did John F Kennedy once admire Adolf Hitler?
Banned Iranian director to attend Cannes Film Festival
The 10 Best salt and pepper sets
Ferran Soriano: Predicting success if Manchester City 'vision' is followed
Edward VIII’s phone calls - and how MI5 bugged them






Comments