BBC News<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Emyr Owens and his family were doing jobs around the house when his daughter heard an unfamiliar sound. <\/p>\n Within minutes there was six foot (1.8m) of water outside their family home in Wrexham, 15 trees had fallen and his son’s car had been swept down the lane. <\/p>\n Like hundreds of others across the country, Mr Owens and his son’s homes were badly damaged by Storm Bert in November 2024. <\/p>\n Three months on he said his family were lucky to be alive but were still living with the scars of such a “horrendous” event.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n “It could have been an absolute disaster,” said Mr Owens, from Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog, Wrexham.<\/p>\n On the morning Storm Bert battered the country, Mr Owens and his adult children, as well as his six grandchildren, were moving furniture.<\/p>\n The storm triggered a landslide on Mr Owens’ doorstep, leaving destruction in its wake. <\/p>\n “It was horrendous. At its worse it was six foot deep and it smashed all the doors where the cattle were,” he said. <\/p>\n A total of 15 trees fell, with one tree slicing through the stone walls of Mr Owens’ son’s house next door. <\/p>\n “We are lucky that it happened at 2pm and not 2am or it could have been a total disaster,” Mr Owen said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Three months on Mr Owens said Storm Bert had mentally impacted the family, particularly his six grandchildren. <\/p>\n “You are always thinking about it,” he said. “People are always asking how are things… but it brings back things \u2013 it’s been a very stressful time.”<\/p>\n While Mr Owens has had support from his “fantastic neighbours and community,” he said questions still remained about the preparation and reaction of authorities to the storm. <\/p>\n “We haven’t had a phone call even \u2013 we have had nothing,” he said. <\/p>\n “You’d think they would have come out and at least come and have a look at the situation. <\/p>\n “At the end of the day they are partially responsible for it.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Mr Owens said he was frustrated he cannot dredge the river, saying “common sense” needed to prevail. <\/p>\n “They say we will put a fence there and plant trees,” he said. “They’re going to extreme costs for no reason.” <\/p>\n Lyndsey Rawlinson, head of operations for north east Wales at Natural Resources Wales, said: “All of our flood risk management activities must be prioritised and justified technically, environmentally, and economically.<\/p>\n “Dredging and de-shoaling can be more effective in some locations than in others. <\/p>\n “We make decisions on how best to manage increased flood risk on a site-specific basis, using specialist knowledge and evidence of how each river might respond to sediment removal.”<\/p>\n Ms Rawlinson added Natural Resources Wales had “permissive powers” to carry out flood risk maintenance work on main rivers, rather than legal duties. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"Emyr](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/0703\/live\/325aa430-f06c-11ef-8c03-7dfdbeeb2526.jpg.webp\")
Emyr Owens<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/bbcx\/grey-placeholder.png\")
![\"Emyr](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/71eb\/live\/714036f0-f06d-11ef-9e61-71ee71f26eb1.jpg.webp\")
Emyr Owens<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n![\"Emyr](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/844a\/live\/a3224100-f06c-11ef-896e-d7e7fb1719a4.jpg.webp\")
Emyr Owens<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
![\"Emyr](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/e92a\/live\/dd011fa0-f06b-11ef-b2a1-1164c261840c.jpg.webp\")