63 years to the day: Flood strikes Mid Wales village again - with video

It was Friday 13th this time making it all the more spooky that the village of Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant, near Oswestry, was ravaged by the floods, more than six decades on from the date that it last happened.

Roger Evans, who has lived in the village all his life, was just seven years old when it first happened on January 13, 1954.

His relatives played a part in the massive clean-up operation of that time. He said: "This village has got to be the village of the damned, how something like this can happen twice in a lifetime, that's really spooky and especially considering this time it was Friday the 13th. Very strange.

"It was a real mess in 1954. New sewerage had been put in at the time, and I don't remember much but I know it ripped all of that out, and it all landed at the bottom of the road.

"It went into shops and old people's cottages, it was dreadful then like it is now.

"I'm sure there was a picture of me as a child standing near to the pipe where it burst.

For Julia Evans, who has also lived in the village all her life, it was like a rewind button had been pressed, as the damage was being surveyed yesterday.

"I was just 10 years old when the first flood hit," she said. "The flood water came down the hill from the opposite side of the river. It went under the hill where I live now and into the Seion Chapel – most of it ended up in the Plough Country Inn and a shop.

"Back in those days a foreman who worked for the water company lived in the village so he was able to switch off the pipe very quickly.

"This time my daughter Nerys Chandler said there were six police cars sent here to deal with the burst.

She added: "Having seen this happen twice in my lifetime, I want to know what steps the water companies are taking to make sure this doesn't happen again."

A massive clean-up operation is now taking place in Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant after 12 properties were evacuated – with 40 properties affected in total in the latest flood.

Twelve families spent the night in hotels or bed and breakfast accommodation and one family may need to leave their home indefinitely.

Other residents had basements completely flooded or suffered water damage to cars and gardens.

Fire crews and several police vehicles attended the incident following the burst in one of the three main pipes carrying water from Lake Vyrnwy to Oswestry.

Crews from Mid & West Fire and Rescue service pumped out one property and Powys County Council provided sandbags in a bid to protect properties.

And the intensive clean-up operation continued throughout the weekend – despite heavy snowfall on Saturday.

Heather Morris, who runs Bodalwyn Newsagents, was walking her dog with her dad Brian Humphreys at 1.30pm on Friday, when they were suddenly confronted by a torrent flowing straight towards them from the aptly-named Waterfall Street.

The street leads to Pistyll Rhaeadr – the UK's tallest single-drop waterfall at 240-feet high.

She said: "We were walking along the bottom of Waterfall Street when we saw a massive flood heading towards us. Dad grabbed our dog and I reached for my camera to take a picture – I've never seen anything like it.

"The water was moving fast and was carrying all sorts of debris along with it – flower pots, watering cans and I even saw my own lantern that had been by my doorstep floating by – we couldn't believe our eyes.

"We watched as the water flooded into businesses without any warning – it went straight into the hairdressers. The owners had only recently had a new floor put in and that was completely ruined. We just couldn't work out what had happened at the time. We knew there had been some snowfall on high ground and our best guess was that it had suddenly melted and flowed down the hill. I'm not superstitious but it does seem to be a bit strange to have had such bad flooding on January 13 again after the events of 1954.

"I've heard that the people who live near the fish and chip shop might have to move out of their property as a result of the flood.

"And Bron Heulog Guest House was also badly hit, a lot of the water went into their cellar because it was the first thing the wall of water coming down from the top field would have hit. The water was so powerful it has left holes in garden hedges."

United Utilities, which owns the large pipe, is investigating the cause of the burst.

A spokesman said: "Our engineers are working closely with the fire service to assist those who have been flooded.

"We will be visiting the householders and businesses affected to assess the damage and explain the process for claiming for any losses and getting their homes back to normal as quickly as possible.

"We will be doing all we can to help. Water supplies are not affected."

A pipe burst in similar circumstances causing extensive damage in the village on the other side of River Rhaeadr on January 13, 1954.

United Utilities said all properties would receive £250 compensation immediately "as a goodwill gesture".

Ron Lewis, who has run The Hand for the past six years, said he hadn't been offered any compensation yet.

He said: "The roads were like rivers, the water was two-feet-deep and I don't think we will see anything like this again in our lifetimes.

"Our function room had a fair bit of water coming in. Some businesses will be expecting a lot more than £250.

"That will just be the start hopefully."

Ian Jones, who runs Greatorex convenience store, said the second surge of water was far worse than the first but both miraculously missed his business at the bottom of Waterfall Street.

"My main concern was that a number of gas cannisters in the shop could explode or become dangerous missiles in the water," he said, "So I moved them and we used bags of fertiliser to divert the floodwater away from the road into the river.

"We escaped damage but the pathway outside, the Spar, the post office and the public hall were hit and there has been a big clean-up operation, which is continuing."