Storm rips roof off chapel and cuts power to 95,000

Extreme winds from Storm Darragh have ripped the roof off a chapel while causing power cuts to about 95,000 properties across the country.

A red Met Office weather warning - the highest level - was in effect between 03:00 GMT and 11:00 GMT in 13 counties with dangerous and perhaps life-threatening conditions predicted, but no serious injuries have yet been reported.

It caused widespread damage and travel disruption, including the closure of the runway at Cardiff Airport on Saturday morning.

Strong gusts hammered the coasts and hills with the Met Office recording winds of 94mph (150 km/h) at Capel Curig in Conwy county at 08:00.

A major incident was declared by Dyfed-Powys Police across Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire, and Powys.

Supt Chris Neve said there were "robust plans" to deal with the situation.

South Wales Police said it was called at about 12:45 on Saturday after a tree fell on a car in Morriston, Swansea.

The two occupants of the vehicle were uninjured.

Passerby Danny Mac said: "Everybody was okay, thank God, but the road had to be closed.

"It was really scary, although the police and fire brigade were on the scene pretty quickly."

Danny Mac said a "big massive gust of wind" snapped a tree which landed on a car

The farming village of Mochdre, near Newtown, Powys, was "completely devastated" to find the roof of Pentre Baptist Church gone.

Farmer and meat seller Jonathan Rees, 47, said, "the roof is scattered in piles from one end of the graveyard to the other".

He said people in the village tried to save the organ and pulpit, but the scene was "too dangerous and the wind was still really strong".

Adam Williams of Prince Leisure Group, which owns Llandudno Pier, said damage done by Storm Darragh to the north Wales landmark was "heartwrenching".

"It's blown a lot of stuff everywhere, but mainly one of the 150-year-old kiosks has gone overboard and is down the coast somewhere," he said.

"The staff, they dedicate their life to [the pier], and we've spent a lot of time and money on it - so to see this happen overnight is destroying."

In Porthcawl, Bridgend county, a block of flats at The Links apartment complex in Rest Bay had part of its roof completely ripped off.

The pier in Llandudno was battered by Storm Darragh

The National Grid said there were almost 64,000 properties without power in mid and south Wales.

Scottish Power said about 31,000 homes in its area, mainly across north and mid Wales, were also without power.

Natural Resources Wales said there were 30 flood warnings - the second highest alert - in effect.

Some roads are closed and train routes have been disrupted across the country, with all ferry sailings to Ireland cancelled.

There was gridlock at Cardiff Central station where the only train running was to Radyr

In south Wales, multiple sections of the M4 were closed.

Transport for Wales asked rail passengers to check timetables before travelling, as many services were not running.

High winds also closed the Prince of Wales Bridge and the M48 Severn Bridge in Monmouthshire, meaning a lengthy diversion for anyone wanting to cross into Wales from south-west England.

Great Western Railway said all trains between Carmarthen and Bristol were cancelled.

Nick Millington, route director for Network Rail on the Wales and Border Route, said: "As of [Saturday afternoon] we are running the railway between Cardiff and England via the Severn tunnel to Bristol and beyond, so that is open.

"Above Cardiff on the core valley lines we are open to Treherbert, Aberdare and Merthyr and that is it.

"The rest of the railway has got damage or we can't get to it to check it."

He added that staff would be out "all night" checking and clearing hundreds of miles of railway of obstacles, such as sheds and trampolines blown from people's gardens.

He said: "The main challenge has been the wind, but tonight the worry will be flooding as we've got quite high groundwater and alerts on some of the rivers already."

First Minister Eluned Morgan: "We should not be complacent, there is a lot more to come for the rest of the weekend.

"It looks like the worst of it is over but there are still very high winds, more rain to come and people should be very careful."

The red wind warning covered Bridgend, Cardiff, Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Conwy, Gwynedd, Anglesey, Monmouthshire, Neath Port Talbot, Newport, Pembrokeshire, Swansea and Vale of Glamorgan.

Cardiff City's home Championship fixture against Watford on Saturday was postponed, as was Newport County's against visitors Carlisle United in League Two.

Meanwhile, the Ospreys' match against Emirates Lions on Sunday has been moved to Parc y Scarlets, in Llanelli, after the Swansea.com Stadium was damaged.

Marc Morris said some of the older people who live nearby do not have power or water

In Rhondda Cynon Taf, which was hit by damaging floods during Storm Bert, the council said at least 40 trees had come down, leaving debris on roads.

Marc Morris was out in the stormy weather helping older people in Llangunnor, Carmarthenshire.

"I've been making sure the elderly neighbours are safe," he said, speaking near a fallen tree on Heol Penymorfa.

About three million people in Wales and south-west England received an alert on their phones on Friday evening, warning them about the bad weather.

A Met Office map showed multiple weather warnings affecting Wales on Saturday

Mobiles made a loud siren-like noise even if set to silent. The sound and vibration lasted about 10 seconds.

It was the largest use of the UK government warning system outside a test scenario - the last of those being in April 2023.

An amber warning for rain was also in force between 03:00 on Saturday and remained until 18:00.

There was also an amber warning for wind covering Wales until 21:00 and a yellow rain warning until noon.

A yellow wind warning for all of Wales that came into force at 15:00 on Friday remains in effect until 06:00 on Sunday.

The last red warning in Wales was during 2022's Storm Eunice, which left tens of thousands of people without power.

Natural Resources Wales said before the storm the amount of rain expected would be less than that which fell during Storm Bert, which wrought havoc across Wales last month.