Natural Resources Wales Recovering from Storm Bert?
Katie Davies, Duty Tactical Manager for Natural Resources Wales said:
The flooding caused by Storm Bert has had a huge impact on many communities across Wales, and our thoughts are with everyone affected – particularly those that have experienced flooding over recent years.
Huw Irranca-Davies MS: Deputy First Minister and Cabinet responsibilities on flooding and the environment.
Cabinet Responsibilities
Climate Change and Environmental Policy: He oversees strategies aimed at reducing carbon emissions and adapting to climate change impacts. His recent initiatives include the Climate Adaptation Strategy for Wales 2024, which outlines actions to tackle climate change through collaboration across various sectors.
Flood Management: He is responsible for managing flood risk and implementing measures to enhance flood defenses, having secured significant funding for improvements in this area.
Rural Affairs: This includes overseeing the Sustainable Farming Scheme, which has faced criticism and protests from farmers. Irranca-Davies has committed to engaging with the agricultural community to address their concerns while ensuring sustainable practices are upheld.
Biodiversity and Natural Resources Management: His portfolio includes policies related to biodiversity conservation, water management, and sustainable resource use, as well as overseeing the implementation of the Environment (Wales) Act.
Community Engagement: He emphasizes the importance of collaboration with local communities, businesses, and voluntary organizations in addressing climate issues and promoting sustainable development.
Board meeting dates, agendas and minutes
Flood Risk Management Committee (FRMC) terms of reference
Katie Davies, “Over the course of the storm, we issued 2 Severe flood warnings, 66 flood warnings and 65 flood alerts across Wales.
“While many rivers have now receded, we still have Flood Warnings and Alerts in place across the eastern side of Wales, particularly across the slowest-responding rivers. We expect these warnings to remain in place for some time as the significant rainfall experienced moves down the catchments. Where floodwater remains on the ground, we want to remind people that they should not walk or drive through it, and to keep away from swollen riverbanks.
“While many of our teams remain out on the ground, supporting our partners and communities in the clean-up operation, our focus has also turned towards recovery.
“We are already inspecting the flood defences we manage across the country for any repairs that might be needed, and checking our trails for damage following the strong winds experienced. And like we do after every serious flood incident, we are carrying out our own proactive recovery and review work to ensure that we can learn any lessons from the experience and use those learnings to make any improvements.
“We know that many communities are all too familiar with flooding, and that risk will increase for others in the future too as climate change accelerates. We will all need to change and adapt to make ourselves as resilient as possible to those impacts. In the short term and the long term, we remain determined to work in partnership with government, other flood risk management authorities and communities across Wales to build that resilience and enhance our readiness to tackle flood risks and the climate emergency as a collective.
“We want to encourage everyone to check their flood risk on our website and, if they find they are at risk, sign up for flood warnings and find out what they can do to prepare for flooding this winter.”
