21/02/22

Cardiff Council's out of hours emergency response teams have been working throughout the weekend to assess, clean and clear the destruction caused by Storm Eunice on Friday.

Three named storms - Dudley, Eunice and Franklin - have hit the Welsh Capital over the last week, with widespread damage reported to private property, council property, buildings and fallen trees.

Since Storm Eunice hit the shores of Wales on Friday, the council has received 120 calls from the public about 50 tree collapses or hanging branches that have either impacted Cardiff's roads, parks or housing land.

All calls received were risk assessed and prioritised based on potential risk to life and 109 of these calls have now been completed, with 11 incidents currently outstanding.

Leader of Cardiff Council, Cllr Huw Thomas said: "I would like to thank all council staff that have been working tirelessly over the weekend to clean up the mess that has been left from Storm Eunice. There has been a number of reports of damage to schools and council buildings and we are carrying out the necessary checks to ensure that repairs can be carried out as quickly as possible.

"Worryingly, extreme weather events such as this are becoming more common, but it is reassuring to see communities across the city come together to deal with the issues that have been caused by these storms. "

The biggest incidents in Cardiff, where trees fell onto the highway were on Manor Way (A470), the slip road on the Link Road (A4232) and on Cathedral Road. These trees have now been removed but the fallen tree on Rhiwbina Hill remains in place and will only be removed when wind speeds reduce later today.

Two road closures remain in place on Park Street and Hemmingway Road while structural assessments take place on specific buildings. These roads will remain closed until further notice until these structural assessments are completed, and the necessary repairs are carried out.

Chief Executive of Cardiff Council, Paul Orders, said: "The decision to close schools on Friday and suspend waste collections was the right one, as it is very rare to receive a red warning from the MET Office, especially for wind and we had to take the necessary precautions

"With storms such as this, the council's contingency plans are put to the test, and staff have worked brilliantly together to deal with all the issues that these storms have caused.

"It is testament to the hard work and dedication of council officers across the council that have worked around the clock, to clear up the mess and ensure that key council services for the elderly and vulnerable residents could continue to be delivered."