RESIDENTS and businesses impacted by repeated flooding “should not have to live like this”, the leader of Carmarthenshire council has said.

Cllr Emlyn Dole was speaking in the wake of yet another deluge last Friday and Saturday which caused disruption across Carmarthenshire.

He said his thoughts were with those affected – and he called on flooding to become a strategic national priority.

The Welsh Government said it has invested more than £390 million helping to manage flood risk between 2016 and 2021.

The Met Office recorded a month's worth of rain in 24 hours in Carmarthenshire. Five inches of rain fell at Llyn-y-Fan, between 6am last Friday and 8am on Saturday. The average February rainfall across South Wales is just under four inches.

More intense rainfall is associated with a warming climate.

Cllr Dole said River Towy levels were “precariously close” to those during Storm Callum in October 2018, which devastated many businesses and homes.

Storms, he said, which were once considered one in a 100-year events seemed to have become “four in one-and-a-half-year” events.

Addressing fellow executive board members, Cllr Dole said the cycle of devastation and  clean-up could not continue.

“We cannot ignore the frequency and severity of these floods,” he said.

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) is the lead flood protection agency in Wales, maintaining defences and building new ones.

Cllr Dole claimed NRW was “under pressure”.

Plaid Cymru leader and Carmarthen East and Dinefwr MS, Adam Price, described the disruption caused over the weekend as devastating.

He claimed there was a lack of sufficient funding and investment in flood prevention at a national level.

Mr Price said: “We urgently need a commitment of extra resources, personnel, and financial aid to the communities most impacted by the floods.”

A Welsh Government spokesman said it had allocated £11.1 million to support councils and individuals affected by flooding over the past 12 months.

It also expects to spend £55 million on flood risk management projects during the current financial year, plus a further £21.5 million to help councils repair damaged roads and bridges.

“We know major flooding incidents are devastating for communities,” said the spokesman.

“We will continue to pro-actively manage and respond to flood risk across Wales.”