Gwaelod-y-Garth flood caused by planned quarry blast

A planned quarry blast caused a “substantial volume” of water from old iron mine workings to flood homes in a village, an investigation has found.

Fifteen properties were affected and 13 homes had to be evacuated, with roads left blocked, when a torrent hit Gwaelod-y-Garth, near Cardiff, last Thursday afternoon.

Investigators have visited nearby Taff’s Well Quarry and gone underground at Garth Iron Mine and concluded it was an “isolated incident”, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has said.

“We recognise the concern this incident has caused for local residents… particularly those living close to the quarrying operations,” it added.

Mine and quarry inspectors have since confirmed underground rock voids holding the water, and an underground tunnel, “have not been compromised in the incident”, said the HSE.

There were reports of water 5ft (1.5m) deep in some homes with a trail of mud and debris blocking roads in the aftermath.

Gwaelod-y-Garth resident Laura Fergusson said there was “an explosion” a couple of minutes before the water arrived through the village.

She said the “whole house shook” and it felt “like a mini earthquake”.

Steven Mordecai, another resident from the area, said he was “shocked” to see a “wall of water” when he went to the back of his garden.

Mordecai said the brown water reached up to his waist, before the force of the flooding pushed him back.

“I grabbed hold of my gate and I was floating. It was so forceful it was unreal,” he said.

Cardiff Council has been coordinating clean-up work in the community, said the HSE.