Wales weather: Gales and rain cause travel chaos

The railway line was flooded between Cwmbach and Aberaman, near Aberdare

Floods have caused travel disruption after heavy rain and winds of almost 80mph battered parts of Wales.

Two flood warnings are in place near Wrexham and Carmarthenshire along with other alerts around Wales.

Several roads have been blocked by fallen trees and flood water while rail services have also been hit by floods.

Firefighters had to rescue three people when their car became stuck in flood water beneath a railway bridge in Monmouthshire.

A crew from South Wales Fire and Rescue Service towed the vehicle to safety after being called to the scene between Llanvihangel Crucorney and Longtown at about 13:40 GMT. No-one was hurt.

And in Maerdy in the Rhondda, several properties were flooded in Thomas Street.

Numerous incidents were reported elsewhere including road closures due to fallen trees and minor flooding on some routes.

Rail travel has also been affected with a number of delays and cancellations across Wales, reports Arriva Trains Wales via its journeycheck website.

On Monday evening, Natural Resources Wales issued two flood warnings for the Lower Dee Valley from Llangollen to Trevalyn Meadows, near Wrexham, as well as the River Towy at Abergwili, Carmarthenshire.

Incidents around Wales included:

• Western Power Distribution said that 1,263 customers lost power for a time on Monday at Llansteffan, Bancyfelin, Meidrim, St Clears and Llangynnog in Carmarthenshire as well as Nantyderry, Abergavenny

• The A4042 at Llanellen, Monmouthshire, was closed when the River Usk bursts its banks

• Trains disrupted between Llandudno Junction in Conwy and Blaenau Ffestiniog, Gwynedd due to flooding at Llanrwst

• Trains cancelled between Cwmbach and Aberdare until further notice due to flooding at Cwmbach. Trains also unable to run between Treherbert and Pontypridd because of flooding at Trehafod. Replacement buses are running

• Flooding reported on the A494, between the A470 Dolgellau and Brithdir, Gwynedd

• Wind warnings in place on the M4 Briton Ferry Bridge, Neath Port Talbot and restrictions on the M48 Severn bridge and A55 Britannia Bridge over to Anglesey

• Flooding affected the A470 in Libanus area of Brecon

• Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service dealt with flooding in some properties at Llanfaes, Brecon and at Cwmann near Lampeter

• North Wales Fire and Rescue Service crews pumped out properties at Market Street, Llanberis, and London Road, Holyhead

• Flooding earlier on Rhigos Road in Rhigos, near Aberdare, and a report of a car in the water

• Fallen trees blocked the A465 at Pandy, Monmouthshire and the A487 at Mathry, Pembrokeshire

The Met Office warned of strong winds in much of north Wales up until 18:00 GMT on Monday.

Gales had caused problems earlier in the day with the strongest wind gust recorded at 77mph at Capel Curig in Snowdonia.

The disruption comes days after thousands of people in Anglesey and Gwynedd lost power in gales after Christmas.

More than 20,000 properties across north and mid Wales were affected as strong winds brought down power cables on Boxing Day, but ScottishPower said everyone had been re-connected by Sunday afternoon.

With ground across Wales already saturated, Natural Resources Wales has warned of possible localised flooding with many flood alerts in place.

A flooded railway line just south of Aberdare