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Homes flooded and residents evacuated after quarry 'incident'

Angharad Thomasand
Gavin Thomas,BBC Wales
Footage show gardens inundated with deep brown water with a football club also flooded as well as local roads

Residents of a village on the outskirts of Cardiff were evacuated after flooding caused by a quarry "incident".

Roads have been shut in Gwaelod-y-Garth, with reports of water up to 5ft (1.5m) deep in some homes on Thursday afternoon.

Emergency services were called to the scene and people were advised to avoid the area.

The Breedon Group confirmed there had been an "incident in its quarry".

"Our teams are working closely with the relevant authorities while engaging with the local community as we respond to the situation," the company said.

Angus Fergusson Flooding at Gwaelod-y-Garth, Taff's Well, Cardiff. Road full of mud and stones. Worker in orange hazard wear looking at the brown water. Angus Fergusson
The main road by the entrance to Riverglade estate in Gwaelod-y-Garth

Earlier, water company Dwr Cymru confirmed the incident was not related to its pipe network.

Residents said they heard a loud blast from the direction of Taff's Well at about 12:30 BST, and then "huge amounts of water" started rushing down the hillside.

One family who live in the affected area said they were turned back at a police cordon and do not know how badly affected their home may be.

Laura Fergusson, a Gwaelod-y-Garth resident, said there was "an explosion" a couple of minutes before the water arrived through the village.

She said the "whole house shook" and it felt "like a mini earthquake".

Steven Mordecai stood at the gate in his back garden following the flooding.
Steven Mordecai says he was "shocked" to see a "wall of water" when he went to the gate in his back garden

Steven Mordecai, another resident from the area, said he was "shocked" to see a "wall of water" when he went to the back of his garden.

Mordecai said the brown water reached up to his waist, before the force of the flooding pushed him back.

"I grabbed hold of my gate and I was floating. It was so forceful it was unreal," he said.

Inside Steven Mordecai home the floor which has been flooded with muddy water. A single seat can be seen in the far left of the image. On each side of the chair there are potted house plants on the floor. A silver metal ladder is on the floor to the right of the image.
The floor has been flooded with muddy water inside Steven Mordecai's home

Pictures from social media show gardens inundated with deep brown water with a football club also flooded as well as local roads.

Those at the scene earlier on Thursday told BBC Wales that the water was no longer flowing down the main road from the direction of Pentyrch, but a lot of dirty brown water remains.

South Wales Fire and Rescue Service said crews and appliances from Whitchurch, Pontypridd, Ely, Roath, Caerphilly and Penarth attended the scene.

A fire engine can be seen at a street, which is covered in mud and stones.
The bottom of Heol Goch on to Main Road in Gwaelod-y-Garth, Cardiff, was flooded on Thursday afternoon

A spokesperson for Natural Resources Wales (NRW) said it was aware of the "visible discolouration of the River Taff resulting from this incident".

"Our officers are on site to assess the environmental impacts and are working closely with the emergency services to advise on minimising any further risk of pollution to watercourses in the area," they said.

"We are aware of significant damage to a public right of way through the woodland as a result of the incident and urge people to avoid the area."

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