Storm Christoph: Two severe flood warnings and homes evacuated in Wales

Homes have been evacuated and a major incident declared in one village after Storm Christoph hit Wales.

About 100 homes and a residential complex are being evacuated in Skewen, Neath, the fire service confirmed

Meanwhile up to 30 people in Bangor-on-Dee, Wrexham, which is subject to a severe flood warning, were evacuated from homes, the council leader said.

There is another severe flood warning for the Lower Dee Valley from Llangollen to Trevalyn Meadow.

Deputy Chief Fire Officer Roger Thomas, of Mid and West Wales Fire Service, confirmed homes are being evacuated in Skewen and a number of vulnerable people are among those being moved, following a burst water main.

South Wales Police, Neath Port Talbot Council, Natural Resources Wales and Welsh Water were all at the scene in Goshen Park.

The council said: "Investigation work regarding the cause of the incident is ongoing with Welsh Water and other agencies."

Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service urged people to "avoid the area."

Wales was the wettest part of the UK during the storm, the Met Office said.

Wrexham council leader Mark Pritchard said teams worked to ensure the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, made on Wrexham Industrial Estate, was not lost in the floods.

In Denbighshire, a bridge linking Trefnant to Tremeirchion over the River Clwyd has collapsed.

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) said the River Dee, which runs through Bangor-on-Dee, was at its highest recorded level since the water gauge became operational in 1996 - 16.45m (54ft).

It urged people across Wales to remain vigilant.

The Met Office said over the past two days Wales had the highest rainfall of the four UK nations.

Between 19 and 21 January, Aberllefenni in Gwynedd saw 188mm (7.5in) of rain, more than average rainfall for Wales for the whole of January, which is 156.89mm (63in).

That was followed by 180mm (7in) in Crai reservoir, Powys, 169.8mm (6.6in) in Treherbert, Rhondda Cynon Taf, and 166mm (6.5in) in both Maerdy, RCT, and Capel Curig, Conwy.

Mr Pritchard told BBC Radio Wales: "We had an incident at Wrexham Industrial Estate, the Oxford vaccination is produced there and the warehouse where it is stored, obviously I can't tell you where it is, but we had to work in partnership to make sure we didn't lose the vaccinations in the floods.

"I've been up all night... it's a very difficult time for us."

Wockhardt UK, which manufactures the vaccine, said at about 16:00 GMT on Wednesday, excess water surrounded part of its buildings.

"The site is now secure and free from any further flood damage and operating as normal," it said.

A multi-agency statement described the situation in Bangor-on-Dee as a "major incident".

It said: "As a severe weather warning indicates that there is a risk to life...

"The evacuation effort continues, with all routes in and out of the village currently closed to the public due to the flooding."

Earlier, some residents in Ruthin were told to leave their homes - people have been told Covid rules allow them leave their homes in an emergency.

Meanwhile, a man's body was recovered from the River Taff near Blackweir in Cardiff.

Dave Brown said the flooding in his home in Broughton, Flintshire, was horrific and his mother-in-law was rescued by firefighters.

"You don't realise the damage water does and everything that floats - the sheer volume of water. I am 6ft tall and it almost took me out," he said.

Wrexham council said some of the people forced to leave their homes were with relatives, while it found others accommodation after having to initially seek refuge in a church hall.

Nine properties in Berse Road in New Broughton were also evacuated.

The situation in Ruthin, Denbighshire, overnight was "horrendous", town councillor Stephen Beach said.

"The whole of Ruthin was on edge," he said.

"Some people were accommodated at the leisure centre, and others were offered places to stay by local residents. The community was superb.

"It was the sheer volume of water that came down - there was no stopping it."

Plaid Cymru Member of the Senedd for North Wales Llyr Gruffydd said the flooding had put a massive strain on residents and businesses during the pandemic, and urged the Welsh Government to give financial support.

Weather and flood warnings

A yellow weather warning for ice for parts of mid and north Wales was also in place until 10:00 GMT, covering Ceredigion, Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Gwynedd, Anglesey, Powys and Wrexham.

The Met Office said ice was forming following clearance of rain and snow, leading to difficult travel conditions.

NRW said as well as the severe flood warning, there were more than 30 flood warnings and more than 50 flood alerts across the country.

Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service said it had attended 98 flooding-related incidents

It said it deployed swift water rescue teams to rescue 13 people from vehicles in floodwater. It also winched vehicles from water and pumped water from properties.

In Cardiff, emergency services attended a crash involving a number of vehicles at about 07:40 on the A4232 between Culverhouse Cross and the M4.

No-one was seriously injured, but both carriageways were closed for just over an hour. The road has since reopened.

In Carmarthen, people were treated for the effects of fumes after using a generator to pump water from their homes.

In Knighton and Crickhowell in Powys, crews spent the night pumping out a number of properties.

In Borth, Ceredigion, floodwater hit the water treatment plant, an electrical substation and eight properties.

Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Team had to rescue a man from the roof of his car.

It said he had tried to drive through the river ford along the road from Llandygai to Bangor, in Gwynedd, but had become stuck in deep water and had climbed onto the roof. He was not injured.

Rhondda Cynon Taf council said it was aware of a minor landslip on the mountainside above Pentre.

It said an initial inspection determined there was no immediate threat to the area and a further detailed inspection would be carried out on Friday. It asked people to avoid the area.

Chris Lloyd from North Wales Mountain Rescue Association warned people to not visit flood-hit areas to view the damage.

He told BBC Radio Wales: "People who are going out to look at the floods are not only putting themselves at risk, but putting additional people on the roads which professional emergency services don't want - we don't want any more incidents."

Dozens of roads have been closed across Wales, including:

Denbighshire council said many roads around the county were impassable.

Dyfed-Powys Police said Powys was experiencing widespread flooding and had severely affected areas between Welshpool and Newtown.

It urged people to only travel if essential and pay attention to road closure signs.

Denbighshire council said Ysgol Bodfari in Denbigh and Ysgol Caer Drewyn, Corwen, which had been open for vulnerable children and the children of critical workers, have been closed.