Storm Henk brings 30 Flood Warnings and 40 Flood Alerts across Wales

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) issued 30 Flood Warnings and 40 Flood Alerts across Wales during Storm Henk on 2 January 2024, the eighth named storm of the season, according to its flood risk management annual report for 2023 to 2024¹. The worst affected area was the River Ritec in Tenby, which was subject to a Severe Flood Warning and where the Kiln Park caravan park flooded for the second time that winter¹.

The report says the storm brought strong winds and heavy rain across Wales and caused widespread disruption. Several rivers reached flood warning levels and many watercourses were out of bank, but NRW states that its network of flood defences prevented flooding in many areas¹. The same network is described as benefiting 102,000 properties across Wales¹.

The earlier flooding at Kiln Park came during Storm Ciaran, from 31 October to 1 November 2023. NRW says the saturated catchment of the River Ritec meant a Severe Flood Warning was issued as the river reached record levels, and that its advice led to the evacuation of more than 900 people as flood waters inundated the Kiln Park Holiday site¹.

Other events in the year covered by the report included Storm Babet, 18 to 21 October 2023, which triggered 46 flood warnings of varying levels in a 48-hour period and led to the flooding of approximately 160 properties in Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Wrexham and Powys; a severe flood warning meaning a danger to life was issued for Llandrinio, Powys¹. Storm Isha, on 21 to 22 January 2024, brought winds as strong as 90mph, with 50mm of rainfall widely on the high ground of North Wales and over 100mm in places; at the peak of that storm 6 Flood Warnings and 36 Flood Alerts were issued¹.

The report states that the period from October 2023 to March 2024 was the second wettest winter ever in the UK, according to the Met Office, and that there were 12 named storms between April 2023 and March 2024¹. It estimates that 272,817 properties in Wales are at risk of flooding, approximately 1 in 7, and gives the undefended figure as of April 2024 as 340,046 properties¹.

Why it matters for households

The figures cover the whole of Wales, so households in any part of the country may have been under one of the warnings or alerts issued during Storm Henk. NRW describes the winter as consistently wet, with more flood alerts issued during 2023/24 than in any of the previous three years¹. The report records that flood defences reduced flooding in many areas during Henk, but that the Kiln Park site flooded for a second time in the same winter¹.

For households in Wales, warnings and alerts are issued by NRW rather than the Environment Agency. The site's guides explain the difference between Flood Alerts, Flood Warnings and Severe Flood Warnings, how NRW warnings and risk maps for Wales work, and how to sign up for free flood warnings. There is a checklist for when a flood warning is issued and a wider household guide to flooding, including coastal flooding and tidal surges, flood defences and alleviation schemes, flood doors and windows and home insurance in a flood risk area and Flood Re.

What happens next

NRW reports that it made significant progress on a new and updated Flood Warning Service, which it says will enter operation in the summer¹. It also reports that it published its updated Flood Risk Management Plan in November 2023, setting out priorities for the next six years, and that in January 2024 it published a report on the level of investment required in flood defences to manage Wales' future flood risk from rivers and the sea¹. The report records the completion of a flood alleviation scheme in Ammanford, Carmarthenshire, protecting 223 properties, and £56.6m of Welsh Government funding on key flood risk management activities¹.