A 95-year-old woman who was evacuated from her flooded flat in Monmouth during Storm Claudia died in September after spending nearly 10 months living in a room above a local Wetherspoons, never able to return home. Jean Powell's story is one of many illustrating the lasting toll of the November 2025 floods that swamped more than 400 properties in the south Wales town when the River Monnow reached record levels.
Jean Powell’s flat at the Chippenham Court retirement complex was flooded when the River Monnow hit 18 times its normal level during Storm Claudia on 15 November 2025. Neighbours helped evacuate her, and after a night on a neighbour’s chair, Powell took refuge in a guest room at The Kings Head, Monmouth’s Wetherspoons pub, because she had no close family to look after her.
"She was happy in the beginning because she was in town where she wanted to be," Smith recalled. "The Wetherspoons staff were brilliant with Jean, they'd take her food and really looked after her."
The storm was officially described as a one-in-75-year event. Almost a month’s worth of rain fell in 24 hours, and the floods overwhelmed flood defences built 35 years ago. The official Section 19 report into the flooding said the severe flood warning for the rest of Monmouth was issued at 03:31 on the Saturday morning, more than two hours after the defences were breached and after homes and shops had been flooded.
Powell stayed at the pub for nearly 10 months, apart from three nights over Christmas at a nearby Premier Inn, where she ate sandwiches from a petrol station for Christmas dinner because she wanted to "remain independent".
"As time went on, living in one room was awful for her," said Smith, 70. "When Jean got ill, it wasn't a place for her to live. Her health deteriorated and she didn't come back home, which is sad."
The first displaced residents are expected to return to Chippenham Court in the coming weeks after a £1 million refurbishment. Powell died in September, before she could move back.
Emily Frost, a mother of two living on the other side of Monmouth, was woken by the coastguard and told she had five minutes to evacuate her family. The storm struck on what was supposed to be her and her husband's 10th wedding anniversary. The family's home had also been flooded in 2020. Frost said her young sons now "play floods" as they process the ordeal and ask when it rains whether the family will stay home.
"People don't recover, it's something you'll just live with," she said.
The official report recommended a review of the timing of severe flood warnings throughout the River Monnow catchment “to ensure adequate advance notice is provided for people to respond effectively,” and also called for a review of the “uptake and understanding” of the flood warning service for those who live and work near the river. Natural Resources Wales said less than a third of those eligible to receive flood warnings by phone or email were currently signed up.
NRW said it reviews its "response, recovery and flood warning thresholds" after every serious incident to "identify lessons." Sara Pearson of NRW said: "We're looking at our flood modelling and if there's anything else that can be done. We're seeing flooding that we've never experienced before and with climate change that's set to increase. We can't prevent flooding, but we can help minimise the impact."
The Welsh Government said it has made £85 million available this year to NRW and local authorities for flood and coastal erosion schemes across Wales, and is spending almost £1.4 million on flood risk management in Monmouthshire, including £700,000 of NRW funding for works at nearby Skenfrith.
Catrin Maby of Monmouthshire council said: "If it was only down to drain clearance we wouldn't need to worry. We need to look at the engineered defences again, we need to look at how we manage the land, we need to allocate sufficient resources into drainage and clearing those drains."
The Met Office estimates that with current levels of global warming, record-breaking wet winters have gone from once in 80-year events to once in 20-year events. Environmental bodies estimate about 275,000 properties in Wales, 400,000 in Scotland and 6.3 million in England are at risk of flooding.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- The death of a displaced resident highlights the human cost of flooding that extends months and years after waters recede.
- Monmouth's experience raises questions about whether flood warning systems are fast enough to protect communities as climate change increases the frequency of extreme weather events.
- One in seven properties in Wales are at risk of flooding, and the official report recommends a review of both warning timings and the fitness of existing town centre defences.
Background
Storm Claudia hit Monmouth, a historic market town on the Wales-England border, on 15 November 2025, when almost a month's worth of rain fell in 24 hours. The River Monnow reached record levels, flooding more than 400 properties and overwhelming defences built 35 years ago. The event was officially described as a one-in-75-year flood. A year later, many displaced residents have still not returned home.
Key Perspectives
Wyn Smith (friend and neighbour): said Jean "used to say, when am I going home?" and "all she wanted to do was come back home and we couldn't fulfil that." She added that some residents who lived through the war said the flooding "upset them more than that."
Emily Frost (flooded resident): recalled the evacuation as a "nightmare" on her wedding anniversary. She said her children now ask when it rains whether they are staying home, and that "people don't recover, it's something you'll just live with."
Natural Resources Wales (Sara Pearson): said the agency is reviewing its flood modelling to see "if there's anything else that can be done," and that "we're seeing flooding that we've never experienced before and with climate change that's set to increase."
Monmouthshire council (Catrin Maby): said "we need to look at the engineered defences again, we need to look at how we manage the land, we need to allocate sufficient resources into drainage and clearing those drains."
Official Section 19 report: recommended a review of the timing of severe flood warnings "to ensure adequate advance notice is provided for people to respond effectively" and a review of "uptake and understanding" of the flood warning service.
What to Watch
- Whether the review of Monmouth's flood defence adequacy leads to upgraded infrastructure.
- Whether flood warning sign-up rates improve in Wales, given the official finding that less than a third of eligible properties currently receive alerts.
- The potential for further severe flooding this winter after NRW warned of an increased likelihood of wetter, windier weather than usual.
Checked
11 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 11 supported.
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- SupportedJean Powell was 95, died before returning home, and had lived in a Wetherspoons refuge after the flood.BBC Wales: “Jean sought a 10-month refuge at her local Wetherspoons but kept asking when she could go back to her flat ... But the 95-year-old never got to go back home and died in September”
- SupportedPowell spent almost 10 months above a Monmouth pub, and her death would be acutely felt when displaced residents returned.BBC Wales: “Apart from three nights at the local Premier Inn over Christmas ... she stayed above the pub in the town's main square for almost 10 months. ... Jean's death will be acutely felt when the first displaced residents return”
- SupportedThe floods affected more than 400 properties in Monmouth as the River Monnow reached record levels.BBC Wales: “the river hit record levels in the early hours of November 15 last year ... It has been officially described as a one-in-75-year event when the river flooded more than 400 properties in Monmouth”
- SupportedPowell's flat flooded when the River Monnow reached 18 times its normal level during Storm Claudia on 15 November 2025.BBC Wales: “her flat, which was flooded when the River Monnow hit 18-times its normal level in south Wales last November. ... in the early hours of November 15 last year”
- SupportedWyn Smith said Wetherspoons staff brought Powell food and looked after her.BBC Wales: “"The Wetherspoons staff were brilliant with Jean, they'd take her food and really looked after her."”
- SupportedThe flooding was officially described as a one-in-75-year event, and almost a month's worth of rain fell in 24 hours.BBC Wales: “It has been officially described as a one-in-75-year event ... after almost a month's worth of rain fell in 24 hours.”
- SupportedThe severe flood warning for the rest of Monmouth was issued at 03:31, more than two hours after defences were breached and homes and shops flooded.BBC Wales: “The severe flood warning for the rest of Monmouth was issued at 03:31 on the Saturday morning - but that was more than two hours after its flood defences were breached and after shops and homes had been flooded.”
- SupportedPowell spent three nights at a nearby Premier Inn over Christmas and had petrol-station sandwiches for Christmas dinner because she wanted to remain independent.BBC Wales: “Apart from three nights at the local Premier Inn over Christmas when Wetherspoons was shut - where Jean had sandwiches from the nearby petrol station for Christmas dinner because she wanted to "remain independent"”
- SupportedThe first displaced residents were expected to return to Chippenham Court in the coming weeks after a £1 million refurbishment.BBC Wales: “the first displaced residents return to the Chippenham Court retirement complex she called home following its £1m refurbishment in the next few weeks.”
- SupportedNatural Resources Wales said fewer than a third of those eligible for flood warnings by phone or email were signed up.BBC Wales: “NRW said less than a third of those eligible to receive flood warnings to their phone or email were currently signed up.”
- SupportedThe Welsh Government said it had made £85 million available for flood and coastal erosion schemes across Wales this year.BBC Wales: “"We have made £85m available this year to Natural Resources Wales and local authorities for flood and coastal erosion schemes across Wales," the government said in a statement.”