Twenty-eight dogs trapped in loft as flooding hits

Twenty-eight dogs were trapped in the loft of a dog sanctuary, after a band of intense rain caused the surrounding area to flood.

Alison Clark, at Glanrhyd Dog Sanctuary in Trimsaran, Carmarthenshire, "lost everything" when river banks burst on Tuesday. Nine dogs were rescued by the emergency services but the remaining "more reactive dogs" are currently stranded.

There has been widespread flooding and disruption in many parts of Wales, with flood warnings in places across Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire and Swansea.

Ms Clark said the property was completely cut off, with the road flooded "for the 12th time since July", but added: "The dogs are safe. I kept them alive yesterday."

Ms Clark, 59, told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast on Wednesday she had tried to bring the 37 dogs living at the sanctuary to safety, as water levels rose rapidly on Tuesday, but "every level we went up, the water followed".

She said the Fire and Rescue service helped nine of the dogs to safety using boats, but the others had to be left behind because "some of [them] are really reactive, and can't share or go elsewhere".

"The rest are just in crates up in the loft - where they've got nowhere to go for their toilet, or any food left," she told the BBC.

"It's just devastating, everything's gone."

Ms Clark said the building was still underwater on Wednesday morning but the flood-waters had receded slightly, though they were rising again with the high tide at midday.

She said the flood had wiped out almost all of the sanctuary's dog-food supply, with only two bags remaining, and the road "totally flooded [with] no access in and out", adding she feels "just broken".

"There's no electricity and nothing for the dogs.

"The bedding is soaking. We've got no washing machines now, and everything's damaged.

"No one, in the 25 years that they've been living here, has ever seen anything like this.

"Every building is flooded, except for the lofts.

"Thank God we had crates in the loft to go to in such an emergency. But it's just the aftermath of it now. We've lost everything.

"Today is just going to be a battle of trying to find clean bedding, and salvage what food we do have, and doing what I can," she said.

Ms Clark said she now plans to build proper kennels in the loft.

"If this happens again, they've got plenty of room, they can stand up, move around, eat and drink - because in crates they can't do that," she said.

The Met Office had previously issued a yellow warning for rain across much of south Wales until 08:00 on Wednesday 5 November.

As of 06:05 GMT, Natural Resources Wales still had a number of flood warnings and flood alerts in place - with seven schools in Carmarthenshire and one in Pembrokeshire closed for the day.

Joint Fire Control Centre operators processed more than 450 calls within a 12-hour period on flooding-related incidents, including calls from people who were trapped in their homes and vehicles.

Very high spring tides, caused by a "supermoon", are another factor in the ongoing flooding, particularly in parts of Carmarthenshire.

A supermoon occurs when there is a full moon unusually close to the Earth. On Wednesday night, the moon will be the closest to Earth than any other full moon of 2025.

Customers at The Gatehouse pub in Cwmbwrla, Swansea had to flee the rising water at around 15:30 GMT on Tuesday.

Landlady Vicky Sheffield said she had to evacuate after water started coming up from drains.

"In 26 years this has never happened before, and now it has happened twice in six weeks," said Ms Sheffield. "It's quite scary."

The flooding in Cwmbwrla has been exacerbated by a collapsed culvert which first emerged as a problem during earlier floods in September.

Swansea council said pumping equipment brought in to alleviate flood-water at Cwmbwrla roundabout - on one of the main routes into Swansea - had been "overwhelmed" during Tuesday's floods - with 400 homes left temporarily without power.

The council has blamed the damage to the culvert on a blocked sewer, which it linked to the recently demolished Cwmfelin social club.

"We are doing everything we can to reopen the road as soon as possible," the authority said.

Jon Davison, co-owner of The Cresselly Arms, in Pontargothi, Carmarthen, described water in the pub as waist-deep, with windows smashed by floating debris from the river Cothi, which runs alongside the venue.

"It's shocking - what can you say? It's terrible.

"The bridge piles up with logs every time we have a flood. It costs the council a fortune to remove them," he said.

Despite the easing of rain in the forecast for Wednesday, the council has warned that higher than normal tides could lead to coastal flooding until Thursday.

Farms, properties and roads are also expected to be hit by flooding near the river Towy in Carmarthenshire.

Low-lying properties in Ammanford, Llandybie and Aberlash, including Carmarthenshire College, where the river Loughor meets the river Amman, are also likely to be impacted should flooding occur.

Pembrokeshire council warned motorists the county was experiencing "widespread surface water flooding" on Tuesday evening, with many routes closed and a number of drivers rescued by the Mid and West Wales Fire Service.

"Heavy flooding" also caused the suspension of rail services between Whitland and Carmarthen, with ongoing warnings about local services being "cancelled or revised" on Wednesday.

Trainline said disruption was expected until 13:00 GMT.