Weather chaos across Flintshire

May 3 2012 by Eleanor Barlow, Flintshire Chronicle

HUNDREDS of people in Flintshire were affected by flooding after torrential rain made it the county’s wettest April on record.

Two weeks worth of rain fell in North Wales in just one day on Sunday – and forecasters said there’s more on the way.

The Met Office confirmed its weather station at Hawarden Airport had seen more rainfall than in any other April since records began in the mid-1940s.

Spokesman Dan Williams: “There was 131mm of rainfall in Hawarden in the month – that’s a new record.

“The previous record was 103mm and the average – based on monthly figures from 1971-2000 – is just 47.6mm.

“Flintshire has seen about three times that!”

North Wales Fire and Rescue Service was called to incidents across the county to pump water away from roads and houses on Sunday and Flintshire County Council’s Streetscene service had more than 200 calls.

Steve Jones, head of Streetscene, said: “The service received just under 250 calls during a five-and-a-half hour period on Sunday and a considerable number of those came from residents requesting sandbags due to various flooding issues.

“Staff worked with the emergency services throughout the period and overnight to provide help and support to those affected.

“During the period of the heavy rain there were number of roads temporarily closed.

“The sites were monitored by staff from the Streetscene service and the roads were reopened as soon as the water levels fell.”

A spokeswoman for North Wales Fire and Rescue Service said officers had assisted and given advice to numerous residents.

Fire crews were called to locations including Mancot, Pentre, Bagillt Road in Greenfield and Denbigh Road in Hendre.

Just before 5pm two fire engines were called to a nursing home on Hall Lane, Connah’s Quay, to pump water out of a cellar which had flooded.

The A548 at Llanerch-y-Mor, near Holywell, was closed at about 5.45pm due to flooding and fire crews were called to pump water away from the road.