Prince of Wales calls for holistic flood defense approach
Prince William visited Skenfrith, Monmouthshire, to discuss recurring floods with residents and plant native oak trees with a local charity.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
- Prince William visited the flood-hit village of Skenfrith in Monmouthshire.
- He emphasized a holistic approach to tackle increasingly frequent severe floods.
- The village has suffered four major floods over the past six years.
- He joined volunteers to harvest seeds and plant a native sessile oak tree.
The Prince of Wales has stated that a comprehensive strategy is essential to address severe flooding as a small Welsh community braces for the upcoming storm season. Residents in Skenfrith, Monmouthshire, have endured four major flood events over the past six years, leaving homes and properties repeatedly vulnerable to heavy downpours.
Last winter brought devastating impacts when the River Monnow burst its banks after Storm Claudia dumped a month's worth of rain within just 24 hours across parts of England and Wales. During his visit, Prince William met with local families and agency representatives to understand the extent of the damage and evaluate ongoing mitigation efforts.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
Prince William spoke with local residents Rod and Helen Wyatt at their garden gate, learning how floodwaters nearly reached nearby cemetery gravestones. Rod shared how they coped during the worst of the flooding by opening two bottles of Prosecco and heading upstairs to watch television after giving up on pumping out the water.
"It must be so demoralising for you now, the worry each year you've got to go through that again, potentially, is becoming more frequent. They keep talking about a one in 50-year event, it doesn't make sense anymore."
Prince William
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
Royal visits to disaster-prone rural communities highlight the growing pressures of climate change on local infrastructure and community resilience. By engaging directly with grassroots environmental initiatives like tree-planting projects, leadership figures help draw vital attention to nature-based solutions for watershed management and flood mitigation.
The prince later visited Great Tre-Rhew Farm to meet representatives from the environmental charity Stump Up for Trees, which aims to plant one million native trees across south Wales. He participated in harvesting seeds from a field maple tree and planted a sessile oak, the national tree of Wales. Representatives from the Duchy of Cornwall also joined to establish a long-term partnership focused on climate-resilient forestry.
Source: BBC Science & Environment
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