Leanne Wood calls for 'urgent' review of old coal tips following landslides
Former Plaid Cymru leader, Leanne Wood, has called for an ''urgent'' review of the stability of coal tips following a number of landslides during the recent storms.
The Rhondda AM raised the concerns at the first plenary since floods devastated part of Wales last week.
A landslip at the Llanwonno Tip in Tylorstown, Rhondda, prompted safety concerns about old coal tips in the Valleys.
Immediate inspections took place after people living close to them told ITV News they were concerned a more serious incident could happen.
Leanne Wood said, ''We all know how devastating a moving coal tip can be,'' as she asked the First Minister to call an urgent review into them.
''We need to recalibrate what we thought was once safe but due to the adverse weather its becoming increasingly common and climate emergency. This new normal cannot be acceptable. We do know it will happen again,'' she continued.
Mark Drakeford said assurances had been received that tips, where there is greatest cause for concern, ''do not pose a risk to life and property.''
However the first minister said assessments are being made against the standards used over the past decade which may not be ''satisfactory.''
Heavy flooding following Storm Dennis caused devastation across many parts of Wales, with homes and business destroyed.
The leader of Plaid Cymru, Adam Price, called for the troops to be sent in to help flooded Welsh communities.
He said men and women in the forces would have made a ''valuable contribution to the crisis'' if they had been asked. However Mr Drakeford said the matter was discussed by emergency services but the decision was taken to not call in the army in as it was too dangerous.
He told Mr Price only those trained to deal with such situations should be deployed.
The Environment Minister Lesley Griffiths said the severe weather brought the most flood warnings Natural Resources Wales had ever issued.
"At its peak, 900 tonnes of water per second was flowing down the River Taff.
"As a result of these two storms, we have seen severe and widespread flooding in communities in North and South Wales.
"There are confirmed accounts of more than 1,000 homes suffering internal flooding and more than 300 businesses being directly affected.
"The number of properties affected and the damage caused has been devastating. But we know this could have been a lot worse without the network of flood defences.
"Across Wales, more than 73,000 homes were protected from flooding by this network of flood defences. This is a reflection of the £350m we have invested in flood risk management since 2016."