MORE than 200 buildings in Wales were flooded as Storm Callum swept through the country, it has been revealed.

The storm battered the south of the country with heavy rain from Friday evening and through Saturday and Sunday, leading to flooding in Abergavenny, along the River Usk and elsewhere in Wales.

And, speaking in the Assembly earlier today, environment minister Hannah Blythyn said an estimated 218 buildings across Wales were flooded over the weekend, including 195 homes, with Caerphilly among the areas the worst hit.

She added up to 160mm of rain had fallen within 24 hours - more than usually falls in a month at this time of year - and at one point 40 flood warnings were in place across Wales.

"We now need to understand the full extent of impacts associated with Storm Callum to inform discussions with local authorities and see what we can do to support those communities affected," she said.

"Following a major flood event, local authorities have a statutory requirement to investigate its cause and impacts and provide recommendations going forward. This may include input from NRW (Natural Resources Wales) and Welsh Water where required, as well as what lessons can be learnt for the future.

"I know some local authorities are considering a hardship scheme and are already discussing with finance officials whether Welsh Government can assist with emergency financial assistance.

"This government would like to give that our full consideration."

She added: "I recognise the importance of adapting to our changing and challenging climate which is why flood risk management remains one of my priorities.

"We are committed to continuing investment in flood and coastal risk management and over the lifetime of this government will invest over £350 million across Wales.

"Our investment is not focused solely on building and maintaining defences, but also about community resilience and prevention, through better information, raising awareness of flooding and preparing flood plans to reduce the impacts on lives and property.

"We cannot prevent all flooding occurring so rebuilding resilience and learning from these events is vital."

But, speaking earlier the same day during First Minister’s Question, leader of the Assembly’s Conservative group Paul Davies accused the Welsh Government of cutting spending on flood defences by “almost 50 per cent in 2016-17”.

“It's about time that you take responsibility for what you are actually responsible for here in Wales,” he said.

He continued: “Between 2015-16 and 2016-17, capital spending on flood defences was cut from £18 million to £9.5 million. It is, therefore, true to say that spending on flood risk management and flood defences is not your government's priority.

“Once again, your government has failed to understand and address the needs of communities across Wales.

“Will you now apologise to those homes and businesses for the devastation and havoc that have been caused because of the cuts we've seen to NRW's budget over the years?”

Saying the impact of the weekend’s flooding would be reviewed to determine if more could have been done to protect homes, Mr Jones pointed the finger at budget cuts on the part of the UK Government.

“There are some things that are very difficult to prevent,” he said. “We are not in a position where we can prevent every single flood, despite the weather.

“What we saw over the weekend was an extreme weather event.”

Speaking afterwards, Mr Davies accused the first minister of being "ignorant of all responsibility".

A 21-year-old man - Corey Sharpling, of Newcastle Emlyn, was killed following a landslip on the A484 in Carmarthen on Saturday.