FOR the second weekend running, Monmouthshire and surrounding areas suffered a battering by the elements.

Storm Dennis brought high winds and more than a month’s rain in parts over 24 hours causing rivers to burst their banks turning roads into waterways, flooding farmland and causing the Meteorological Office to issue a red warning signifying a threat to life for South Wales.

There was widespread flooding on the county’s roads as the relentless deluge drove up the water levels of the River Monnow, River Usk and River Wye.

Monmouthshire County Council working in partnership with other agencies including Natural Resources Wales and the emergency services fought throughout the days and nights to keep residents safe.

Teams distributed sand bags, helped in clearing trees, managing landslips and closing roads. Rest centres were established to support people. Some homes were flooded in Monmouthshire and had to be evacuated.

River levels on the Usk were very high and residents were advised by Natural Resources Wales to take immediate action and plan for potential flooding. The situation in Usk continues to be monitored.

 Monmouthshire County Council Leader, Peter Fox said: ‘‘I would like to give my sincere thanks to everyone who has been working around the clock to keep residents safe.

‘‘Roads across the county are still closed due to flooding and residents are urged to drive with caution as conditions are dangerous.

‘‘We will continue to closely monitor all river levels over the coming days as the threat posed by Storm Dennis is not over yet.’’

The unsettled weather continues through this week with further rain expected later Wednesday into Thursday but this is not expected to be a repeat of the weekend weather with much lesser amounts of rain in the forecast.

Among roads closed by the weather were Llanfoist Bridge, the old Abergavenny to Raglan road and Merthyr Road between Llanfoist and Govilon.

Damage to the supports of the ancient Crickhowell Bridge by the force of the flooded river meant the thoroughfare was closed to traffic while in Abergavenny, Castle Meadows and parts of Linda Vista Gardens and Byfield Lane car park were submerged.

Blaenau Gwent Borough Council stated: ‘‘We’ve been in Llanhilleth and Cwm supporting residents affected by flooding following Storm Dennis. A big thank you to everyone who has been involved with the clean up today and for the many many kind donations the community has received from individuals and local businesses.

‘‘Our communities have really pulled together to help each other out these past few days.’’

Council officers have visited all affected households to assess individual needs and give guidance on the effective cleaning of flood water and home safety.

Chronicle weatherman Jonathan Powell stated: ‘‘Storm Dennis followed hot on the heels of Storm Ciara and within the space of seven days tracked a very similar approach line to the UK and indeed South Wales.

‘‘Whereas Dennis was not expected to have been as worse for wind speeds and rain amounts as Ciara, an intense area of rain associated with the system was delivered during late Saturday and the early hours of Sunday morning, unfortunately centred on South Wales.

‘‘The copious amounts of rain that ensued, and area of delivery targeted, escalated the flooding risk dramatically, tipping the balance in favour of more damaging flooding, initially made all the more potent by the amount of rainfall already received across the region and accumulated water yet to make its way down to lower levels from the mountains following Storm Ciara.

‘‘These two events, Ciara and Dennis, which granted have proved to be severe in nature, will probably become the norm over the decades to follow.

‘‘But despite the mildness and lack of snow across Monmouthshire and Powys this winter, by no means rule out severe snow events in the future for South Wales.’’

Pictures by: Hannah Russell, Kathy Newman, Matthew Timmons, Danielle Jade Bowen, Becky Carter and Matt Lane.