Our wellbeing
How the flooding has affected people here, what helps, and where to find support.
The flooding of 30 July 2026 damaged homes. It also affected people, and that has been slower to talk about and slower to settle.
This page is for anyone still carrying it: residents whose homes were flooded, neighbours who watched it happen, families, and people who have been supporting someone else through it. It is also here so that the organisations involved understand what the weeks since July have been like below the hill.
Many people have said they feel unsettled, anxious or on edge. Those reactions are common after an event like this one, they are shared by other people in the village, and they make sense.
If you need support now
You do not have to wait until things get worse before asking for help.
- Your GP surgery. The first place to go for most people, and the route to anything further.
- NHS 111 Wales. Call 111 for urgent health advice at any time.
- Stepiau. Stepiau is a service developed by the Primary Mental Health Support Service (PMHSS) for Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan. https://www.stepiau.org
- C.A.L.L. Mental Health Helpline for Wales. Free on 0800 132 737, 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Also by email at call@helpline.wales.
- Samaritans. Free on 116 123, 24 hours a day, every day. The Welsh Language Line is 0808 164 0123, open daily from 7pm to 11pm.
- Meic. Free on 080880 23456 or text 84001, for anyone up to the age of 25, open every day from 8am until midnight.
If someone is in immediate danger, call 999.
Why 30 July has stayed with people
Residents have described a blast that felt different from the many they have heard over the years, and have said it seemed louder, longer and more physically shocking than usual. Several residents have said they heard no warning siren. Within a few minutes, water was coming through the village. People had no chance to prepare or to protect their homes. You can read the fuller account on our what happened page.
The Trauma-Informed Wales framework, which sets out how public services across Wales are expected to respond to trauma, defines it broadly:
trauma:
any experience that is unpleasant and causes, or has the potential to cause, someone distress and/or anxiety
Trauma-Informed Wales: A Societal Approach to Understanding, Preventing and Supporting the Impacts of Trauma and Adversity, 2022
That definition covers experiences that leave people feeling unsafe or without control, not only those that cause physical injury. It is why this group treats the emotional effects of 30 July as part of what happened, rather than as something separate from the damage to buildings.
What residents have described
In conversations with the group since July, residents have described:
- feeling nervous or on edge
- difficulty sleeping
- anxiety when heavy rain is forecast
- worry about the water still held in the old workings above the village
- concern about further blasting
- uncertainty about what is happening at the quarry now
- thoughts about the flooding that arrive unbidden
- unease about leaving the house, and about what they might come back to
- feeling less safe at home and in the village than before
Not everyone feels all of these things, and some people feel none of them. There is no correct way to react to something like this, and no timetable for getting over it.
Why residents are concerned about further blasting
Blasting at the quarry is lawful, and it has been part of life here for many years. What has changed is what residents now associate with the sound of it.
Residents have told the group that a blast they did not know was coming is distressing, and that it brings back how 30 July felt. The two things people say help most, knowing what is going to happen and having some sense of control over it, are the two things an unannounced blast takes away.
The group’s view is that a good deal of this could be reduced by notice and information. A resident who knows that blasting is planned, and what to expect, is in a far better position than one who does not. That is a practical request, and it is set out alongside our other requests on what we are asking for.
Looking after yourself and each other
None of this replaces professional help, but residents have found these things useful.
Talk to someone about it. Saying out loud what happened to you, to a neighbour, a friend or your GP, tends to make it smaller rather than larger.
Stay in touch with people. A lot of the difficulty of the last weeks has been people dealing with the same thing separately. Village events, a conversation on the street and the group’s own meetings all help.
Take it seriously without treating it as an illness. Feeling shaken after your home floods is a reasonable response to something unreasonable. It is worth taking seriously, and it does not mean anything is wrong with you.
Find ways to settle yourself that you can keep up. Sleep, food, daylight, exercise and routine all sound too simple to matter. They are usually the first things to go and among the most useful to get back.
Keep an eye on the people around you. Older neighbours, people living alone and anyone who was in the house when the water came may be finding it harder than they are letting on.
Know when to ask for more help. If it is not easing after several weeks, if you are not sleeping, or if it is affecting your work, your family or your health, speak to your GP or call one of the numbers above.
Children and young people
Children often take in more than adults expect, and they may show it differently: clinginess, disrupted sleep, trouble at school, or worry about rain and noise rather than about the flood itself.
It usually helps to answer their questions simply and honestly, to keep ordinary routines going where you can, and to let them know that the adults around them are dealing with it.
Meic is the free helpline for children and young people up to the age of 25 in Wales, on 080880 23456 or text 84001, open every day from 8am until midnight. Your GP and your child’s school can also help.
Practical help with recovery
Some of what is wearing people down is practical rather than emotional, and there is help with that too.
- The National Flood Forum is a charity that supports and represents people affected by flooding across England and Wales. Its helpline is 01299 403 055.
- Cardiff Council has coordinated clean up work in the community.
- This group is collecting accounts of insured and uninsured losses so that the picture can be put to the organisations involved as one. If you have not yet told us what happened to your property, please get in touch.
What we are asking of the organisations involved
The group is asking everyone with a part in this, including the council, the regulators, the health board and the quarry operator, to take the following into account:
- Give residents advance notice of blasting, and say what to expect.
- Put information out in plain language, before people have to chase it.
- Recognise that the effect on people here is real, and say so.
- Involve residents rather than informing them after decisions are taken.
- Keep an eye on those most likely to be struggling, and make sure support is available to them.
The Trauma-Informed Wales framework, which applies across Welsh public services, puts the principle this way:
It seeks to actively resist traumatising people again and prevent and mitigate adverse consequences, prioritising physical and emotional safety and commits to ‘do no harm’ in practice
Trauma-Informed Wales: A Societal Approach to Understanding, Preventing and Supporting the Impacts of Trauma and Adversity, 2022
About this page
This page was written by residents, not by clinicians. It sets out what people here have told the group, and points to organisations that can help. It is not a counselling or crisis service, and the group cannot give medical advice.
You can read more about how we handle information on this site. If you think anything here is wrong or out of date, please tell us and we will put it right.
Last reviewed: 11 September 2026
You do not have to deal with this on your own
Whether you were flooded, you live nearby, or you are worried about someone who was, the group would like to hear from you.