First Minister to hold urgent meeting with UK Government following landslide fears
The First Minister has said the Welsh and UK Government will be holding a meeting to discuss concerns about the safety of old coal tips in the south Wales valleys.
It comes after a number of mountains in the Rhondda were hit by landslides caused by heavy and prolonged rain during Storm Dennis at the weekend.
He said responsibility for the safety of coal tips is shared between UK bodies and local authorities in Wales.
"We agreed we would jointly convene a meeting as fast as we were able - bringing all of the different responsible authorities together and if there is further remedial action that is necessary to get a full picture and then a plan to respond to that."
Immediate inspections of the old coal tips on the mountains are underway after people living close to them told ITV News they are concerned a more serious incident could happen.
Geotechnical engineers were at the site which is being monitored with specialist radar equipment to see how much the mountain has or is moving.
"We don't want to alarm people unnecessarily", the First Minister added.
"Engineers are already there making sure that tips are stable and there is no immediate things that people need to worry about but inevitably, given our history here in south Wales, these sorts of events evoke fears in people.
"I want to work with the UK Government to make sure everything that needs to be done is being done."
Mr Drakeford was speaking after holding an emergency summit following severe flooding in south Wales. He said the costs to repair communities and flood defences will be in the "tens of millions".
"Bridges have been washed away, roads will need to be repaired, flood defences that stood up may need further reinforcing.
"Those costs will be tens of millions of pounds. I've spoken to the Welsh Secretary and explained we are going to have to make an application to the Treasury for assistance with those costs.
"The Welsh Government will manage the costs in the short run and that will be millions of pounds but over months ahead, but as these bigger sums of money comes in from local authorities, our budget will not be sufficient to able to respond to all of that."
The First Minister said he would have not expected the prime minister to call him as all of the responsibilities relating to flooding are devolved to Wales.
"We are the body that's responsible and we're getting on with it. How people go about their responsibilities elsewhere is for them rather than me."
Watch the moment a landslide occurred in Tylorstown:
Thousands of people in the Rhondda area have also been forced out of their homes due to severe flooding. Leader of RCT Council Andrew Morgan said £1 million was being made available to support "substantial repairs" across the county.
It is estimated that over 530 homes and at least 300 businesses across the county borough have been affected by flood waters.
“We are still in the process of fully understanding the extent of the damage caused by Storm Dennis over the weekend, although the impact that the weather has had on our communities is absolutely clear", Cllr Morgan said.
"Council staff and a number of other agencies and organisations havebeen working around the clock to support our communities and I would like to give my thanks for their efforts.
“We understand that this is an extremely distressing time for those who have been impacted by the flooding, but I would like to reassure residents that the Council are taking every effort to provide as much support as we can."