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At 01:00 on a Saturday morning, a quiet market town was struck by what residents recall as the worst flooding in living memory.
In November 2025, Storm Claudia brought devastation to the residents of Monmouth, South Wales, as the River Monnow surged to 18 times its normal level.
The event led to hundreds being evacuated from their homes, millions in business losses, and for some lifelong residents, the loss of everything they owned.
Among those still grappling with the aftermath is Gillian Haycock, manager of a retirement living complex, who recounts the harrowing rescue of a 102-year-old resident, still in their nightdress, by raft boat.
Almost four months later, Haycock reports that some residents of Chippenham Court remain “still homeless” due to the extensive damage, with their return uncertain.
While attention was focused on the River Wye, the primary river bordering Monmouth’s eastern edge, the catastrophic flooding was unexpectedly triggered by its tributary, the River Monnow.
Despite existing river flood defenses, Storm Claudia left the local community “shell-shocked” by the scale of destruction.
Gillian Haycock described the scene as “carnage” as she struggled to ensure the safety of her residents.
Speaking to BBC Radio Wales’ After the Cameras podcast, she stated: “It was like a sinking ship, and it still looks like that now.”
“I would never believe that water could do that much damage, that it could take a kitchen off its wall.”
“The severity of that water was so strong that day, and it kept flowing.”
Some of the building’s residents remain “still homeless,” along with Haycock’s 87-year-old father-in-law, who is battling terminal cancer.
Haycock noted, “Even now, 11-12 weeks later, they’re all in not the best place.”
“Mentally, they’re distraught, and I don’t know whether some will even come back.”
Facing repair costs exceeding £750,000, Haycock expressed her concern that she may be forced to close Chippenham Court permanently if she cannot afford to renew the insurance at the end of March.
Andrea Shull and her husband had only opened their restaurant eight days prior to the floods and were present in the building as the street outside transformed into a “pouring river” in the early morning hours.
“Because there was a lot of us still there, we started to lift furniture, fridges up into the kitchen area, thinking about the electricals,” Shull recounted.
“Then before we knew it, it just all came through like a river, and we were fighting a losing battle.”
Shull admits to having “very naively” failed to read the fine print of her insurance policy, leaving her without compensation for the losses incurred or assistance in reopening the restaurant.
Shull estimates her losses at £250,000, encompassing wages, destroyed food, and equipment. She detailed emptying her savings, cashing in her pension, and utilizing multiple credit cards to cover costs.
The community rallied to provide support, enabling Bar 125 to resume operations within 10 days.
“You kind of like feel that you’re in somebody else’s nightmare, that it’s not really happening to you.”
Jeremy Parr, Head of Flood and Incident Risk Management at Natural Resources Wales, stated that the river’s levels reached 18 times their normal capacity, equivalent to the weight of 371 cars.
Parr commented, “In Monmouth, it was unexpected because it hasn’t happened for such a long time.”
“I think what it shows is that a lot of places are, like Monmouth, next to rivers with defences – those defences aren’t a guarantee that there will never be any flooding.”
“I’ve spoken to people who are scared every time it rains because of their memory of what happened last time.”
One in seven homes in Wales are at risk of flooding, a figure that Natural Resources Wales projects will increase by 28% over the next century.
Monmouthshire County Council has initiated an investigation into the causes and comprehensive impact of the flood, with a report anticipated this summer.
However, for residents like Shull, the damage is irreversible.
Speaking earlier this month, she shared, “Yesterday, we didn’t even take enough money to cover our staff wages.”
“And that’s because there’s still shops that are not open, parking charges are back in place, and it’s what happened in November, [everyone thinks] let’s move on.”
“You can imagine every time it rains, you just turn that key in the door and just hope that nothing’s gone in, but it is one of those uncontrollable things.”
Scientists say nearly all of the significant glaciers in the Austrian Alps have shrunk.
Work to reduce the flood risk is being carried out at Battlefield in Shrewsbury.
Fire crews remain at the scene on Harcourt Road in Crookesmoor, Sheffield.
Devon County Council says it wants to fix roads and prevent communities from being flooded.
Nearly unscathed shelves stood next to destroyed grocery aisles after a tornado with winds of up to 150 mph hit Lake Village, Indiana.
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