Homes and businesses have been flooded and roads left under water today after heavy rain fell across large areas of Wales.
Crickhowell is among the places particularly badly hit, with other nearby towns and villages also affected, as well as Carmarthen, further west. Natural Resources Wales issued 25 flood warnings today while the Met Office had issued an amber severe weather warning.
Crickhowell was also badly flooded by Storm Dennis last year. Bridge End Inn landlord Howard Barker had to rebuild after that but has now been flooded again. But this is the third time flood waters have crossed the threshold of the pub already this year.
He told WalesOnline: "We had a phone call last night at 3am warning us that the river Usk was about to burst its banks. By 5am there was a foot of flood water in the pub. The fire brigade have three pumps here now and there is still nine inches. We are hoping the river level will drop to allow the water out."
"This has happened three times in 2021 so far," he said.
"Storm Dennis wiped the pub out completely last year - we had to be taken out through the bedroom windows. We had just had a £450,000 refurb and were ready to go as soon as we were allowed to reopen. Two weeks ago it was flooded again. We had the carpets removed and everything was drying and now this.
"We have been here 23 years. We used to have a flood every two years or maybe 18 months, now it's three times this year and it is only February 20 - it is getting ridiculous.
"Whether it is climate change or the river authorities not doing their job or both, all I know is we are now struggling to get insurance. As soon as we tell insurance companies our postcode they will not offer it to us."
The last 12 months have been tough for everyone in hospitality but there is hope for most that this summer may be better. This most recent flood has taken that light at the end of the tunnel away from Mr Barker.
"We have put our heart and soul into it," he explained.
"It is not just our business, it is our home and it is hard to see it wrecked week after week. You get to that point but then you clean up and hope it won’t happen again. But when it does you think you can’t keep pumping money into this. It is not a case of if, but when. Round here the summer is so important for businesses. But we might not be able to open this summer now."
Parts of Carmarthen were also flooded, leaving businesses there and more widely in the county also facing the prospect of a battle with insurance.
Grant Rees runs a commercial vehicle garage in Llanybydder, Carmarthenshire. He was flooded two years ago during Storm Callum and it cost him £750,000 that he says still hasn’t been paid out by insurance. He is now scrambling to safeguard his business as the flood waters are rising again.
Mr Rees told WalesOnline: "The water is being trapped by a wall the council put up two weeks ago. There are homes on the street as well that have young families and elderly people in.
"We have electrical equipment that is just going to be scrap if the water rises any more. We have have moved as much as we can but the brake testers are worth £50,000 each and are built into the floor, we can’t move them. There were 12 of us moving stuff all day yesterday to protect it."
