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EDITIONS
Tuesday, 29 October, 2002, 12:43 GMT
Storm ordeal remains for thousands
Electricty pylon generic
The storms caused problems across Wales
Two days after severe storms battered the country, thousands of homes across north Wales are still without electricity.

The majority of houses and businesses in Denbighshire, Flintshire and Wrexham had their power restored by Tuesday morning.


Without electricity we have no heating in the house, there's no lighting in the house and no electricity points to boil the kettle and make the feeds up

Emlyn Roberts, new father

But many households, especially in north west Wales, are still reeling from the effects of the storm.

In Dolgellau, in Gwynedd, one family with a baby less than one-week-old have been without heating for more than 48 hours.

Farmer Emlyn Roberts said he was angry with the situation.

"It's very difficult - my wife gave birth to our daughter on Wednesday evening and we have had no power since Sunday.

"We're coping, but just about. Without electricity, we have no heating, there's no lighting and no electricity points to boil the kettle and make the feeds up."

Mr Roberts said he was angry that the power supplier, Manweb Scottish Power, had not prioritised their call.

Man in storm
Many people braved the storms

"We've been in touch with them and they've assured me that they are doing something, but so far we are still without electricity," he said.

However, the company has said it does prioritise the way it deals with calls if people are believed to be particularly vulnerable.

But it admitted that it was not always feasible to get customers in isolated areas back on quickly.

In some cases, the firm said social services could be asked to help provide assistance and sometimes alternative accommodation.

Elsewhere, Denbigh farmer Gwynfor Evans said his son's farm was still without electricity and their telephone lines had also been damaged in the storm.

However, he said they were largely unaffected as a generator was allowing them to continue milking their 100 cows.

Pub problems

Around 18,000 homes remain without power across north and mid Wales but it is expected most will be back on by Tuesday evening.

Approximately 32,000 homes have had their power restored since Monday.

Chris Fussull, landlord of The Raven Inn in Llanarmon-yn-Iâl, Denbighshire said he was without electricity for 49 hours.

"We still opened but we had to run by candlelight, we had no heating and we couldn't do food," he said.

Road closed
Many roads were closed due to fallen debris

Local councils in Denbighshire, Flintshire and Wrexham have said the counties are all getting back to normal.

Workers have been working throughout Sunday and Monday to clean up debris from falling trees and branches.

But further problems could be imminent due to forecasts of heavy rain for the rest of the week, which have caused the Environment Agency to issue flood warnings.

There is a flood watch covering Denbighshire on the upper Dee Valley down to Llangollen.

A flood warning is also in place on the lower Dee Valley from Llangollen to Chester.


More from north east Wales
See also:

29 Oct 02 | Wales
28 Oct 02 | Business
27 Oct 02 | UK
27 Oct 02 | England
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