SEVERE flooding caused by a series of storms earlier this year should be a "pivotal moment" in how Wales responds to future extreme weather, Natural Resources Wales has said.

Nearly 600 homes were flooded in Gwent when storms Ciara, Dennis, and Jorge battered Wales during the wettest February on record.

The effects of Storm Dennis were especially fierce - weather stations across Gwent recorded their highest-ever levels as rivers swelled following days of torrential rain.

READ MORE: Storm Dennis – as it happened

At that storm's peak, the River Wye weather station at Redbrook, Monmouthshire, recorded 925 tonnes of water raging past every second.

South Wales Argus:

NRW said the lessons learned from the floods must be the "catalyst for a seismic shift in how Wales responds to the climate emergency and manages its future flood risk".

­— No 'silver bullet' solution

Clare Pillman, the agency's chief executive, said scientific evidence showed climate change would accelerate the scale of "extreme weather events" like the February floods.

The three storms arrived at the end of an "exceptionally wet winter," she said, adding that NRW had been "stretched" by the sheer scale of the flooding despite being on high alert all winter.

She warned there was no "silver bullet" solution to preventing flooding, but said investments in NRW defences had protected an estimated 19,000 homes in South Wales earlier this year.

South Wales Argus:

Wales must now consider an "integrated approach" to flood risk management because "the challenge is bigger than any one organisation can tackle alone," NRW said following the publication of its report on the February floods today.

The agency's recommended approach would combine physical flood defences with more natural forms of flood management and "improved community resilience".

"We need to ask ourselves, our partners, all levels of government and society as a whole what level of service is required of us and others to keep communities safe," the agency added. "That is why all levels of government, the organisations responsible for managing flood risk, businesses and the communities at risk, all need to be part of the decision making, pulling at all the levers at our disposal to meet the challenges of a changing climate."

READ MORE:

­— Gwent defences stood firm

There is a cause for much optimism – NRW said many places in Gwent didn't flood because of recent investment in defence projects, such as the flood walls in Usk – built 10 years ago.

Though there was some flooding from smaller watercourses, NRW said the defences prevented major flooding in the town, with the river level climbing to within inches of the top.

Record river levels across Gwent meant water rose above some flood defences, but none failed or collapsed, NRW said.

South Wales Argus:

Since the February floods, NRW has completed £130,000 of storm repair projects in Bassaleg, Crosskeys, Llanbadoc, Ponthir, and Usk.

Later this year, the agency will carry out more repairs in Cwm, Machen, New Tredegar, and Risca; and next year's projects include shoring up defences in Bedwas and Ystrad Mynach.

­— Looking ahead

Beyond repairing existing defences, NRW hopes the legacy of the February storms will be a new approach to flood risk management – similar to the impact of the severe flooding that struck South Wales in 1979.

South Wales Argus:

“Among the issues our reviews have identified, there are things that can and have been addressed quickly," Ms Pillman said. "Other areas of improvement will require significant investment, design and planning and will take some time, possibly years, to fully resolve.

“But there are clearly lessons to learn and improvements to be made for all bodies responsible for flood risk management in Wales. While we can’t attribute every storm to the effects of climate change, the scientific evidence suggests we are likely to see more of these extreme weather events in the future."

­— Check your flood risk

Today's Natural Resources Wales report follows the publication of the Welsh Government's new flooding strategy earlier this week.

The new National Strategy for Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management in Wales sets out the Welsh Government's long-term policies for managing flooding caused by rivers and the sea.

It also sets out the responsibilities of various organisations, including NRW, councils and water companies, to improve planning and preparations for future floods.

But the strategy also calls on residents to understand their own flood risk and consider how they need to plan for flooding.

Part of the new approach to improving how we talk about risk is the Wales Flood Map, which launched this week.

The map brings together all of the Welsh Government's flood and coastal risk mapping in one place.

You can check your area's flood risk using the new Flood Risk Assessment for Wales map, available online at www.tinyurl.com/floodriskmapwales

Zoom in on the interactive map to make the flooding data appear.