:00:00. > :00:08.6pm. It's goodbye from me and on BBC One, we join our teams where you
:00:09. > :00:14.Welcome. Our top story: Hundreds of homes flooded.
:00:15. > :00:17.Families are forced to be as high tides and gale force winds sweep
:00:18. > :00:22.across North Wales. I could see the carpets were rising
:00:23. > :00:26.and it was coming in everywhere. Obviously, it has come up through
:00:27. > :00:34.the floorboards. Many families were rescued by life
:00:35. > :00:39.boat cruise. We are live this evening where the
:00:40. > :00:55.rescue operation is still in full swing.
:00:56. > :01:04.You have to wait longer before picking up your state pension.
:01:05. > :01:06.Claims that the Chancellor park-mack plans will hit us hard than the rest
:01:07. > :01:11.of the UK. And helping save seriously ill
:01:12. > :01:18.babies as new kit has been paid for by a special donation to the air
:01:19. > :01:20.ambulance. Good evening. Storms have forced
:01:21. > :01:25.hundreds of people to leave their homes across North Wales coast. High
:01:26. > :01:30.tides and strong winds caused flooding and major disruption
:01:31. > :01:38.tonight. One of the worst affected areas is Rhyl. RNLI crews have had
:01:39. > :01:42.to rescue people from their own homes. Cars have been stuck in
:01:43. > :01:46.flooded streets and rose tab been -- roads have been closed. At one
:01:47. > :01:53.point, there were two severe flood warnings in place, suggesting lives
:01:54. > :01:56.were in danger. Experts say some of these types are the highest in ten
:01:57. > :02:03.years. The next is expected after midnight. Let's get our latest ROM a
:02:04. > :02:11.reporter in ten macro -- from our reporter in Rhyl.
:02:12. > :02:14.The rescue operation is ongoing. The RNLI are still going door to door,
:02:15. > :02:21.knocking to see if anybody is still inside. The houses find me have been
:02:22. > :02:25.affected by severe flooding. 400 people from this area are currently
:02:26. > :02:27.seeking shelter at the local leisure centre. It has been a testing day
:02:28. > :02:40.for the authorities. Streets became rivers as the storm
:02:41. > :02:46.surge left its mark on Rhyl. Less than ten weeks before Christmas, it
:02:47. > :02:50.is heartache for hundreds. We were trying to mop it up as it
:02:51. > :02:53.came into the conservatory and I went to go through there and I could
:02:54. > :02:59.see the carpet were rising. It was coming in everywhere.
:03:00. > :03:06.Some couldn't even get into their homes.
:03:07. > :03:11.Devastation, isn't it? I and 70. I have gone through this price. When I
:03:12. > :03:23.first came, I stripped the bungalow and rebuilt it. In 1990, the floods
:03:24. > :03:28.came, and now we've got it again. All across the North Wales coast,
:03:29. > :03:32.the sea became a boiling broth, spitting is usually in land. This
:03:33. > :03:38.was the scene in North run -- North Wales where is he more heartache. I
:03:39. > :03:50.came down when the high water was here. The whales -- waves were
:03:51. > :03:57.crashing in over the shelter. This was a promenade. It is going to take
:03:58. > :03:59.a lot of digging out. The roads were closed and a village was evacuated
:04:00. > :04:05.as the tidal surge threatened the defences. This warning, the water
:04:06. > :04:10.knocked on the door and asked me to go around the park and ask all the
:04:11. > :04:19.old people, warned them to be ready to be evacuated. We were told by
:04:20. > :04:23.text to evacuate. My husband is a float or done so he got the
:04:24. > :04:27.information. We went out into the village and later all the people
:04:28. > :04:32.went around and knocked on the doors. We didn't know whether the
:04:33. > :04:37.people had got anything by phone or whether they knew anything. Further
:04:38. > :04:41.inland the wind was strong enough to rip the roof off this supermarket.
:04:42. > :04:49.From two West, people came to see the surge and took photos. But it is
:04:50. > :04:55.Rhyl that has felt the full brunt. Those who could not be moved had to
:04:56. > :05:06.be helped. The NFL I was called. -- the RNLI. This is not the start to
:05:07. > :05:15.December anybody in Rhyl wanted, all major agencies have combined to try
:05:16. > :05:19.to minimise the act. -- impact. The door-to-door Ginty news this
:05:20. > :05:25.evening. In the last five minutes a woman and her dog have been rescued
:05:26. > :05:30.from their property. I am joined from Jeremy Hunt from North Wales
:05:31. > :05:34.Police. You have had a easy day. Emergency services have been working
:05:35. > :05:38.very hard to make sure our distant -- response has been the right one,
:05:39. > :05:44.to make sure we get to the people at the right time. We have our ongoing
:05:45. > :05:50.efforts, to continue to make sure people are safe. You have a specific
:05:51. > :05:53.appeal this evening. The most important message this evening is
:05:54. > :05:59.notwithstanding people need to take care in travel, it is around phoning
:06:00. > :06:03.an incident room. We have a telephone number available. You can
:06:04. > :06:07.see people behind me checking properties, but some people will
:06:08. > :06:14.have left, some people will have been on holiday, some will have left
:06:15. > :06:18.on their own accord so it is important that if those people
:06:19. > :06:27.around there and they are watching a search of their home, they contact
:06:28. > :06:33.us. It is imported people listen to the message and telephone is so"
:06:34. > :06:37.innate who is safe. Making sure everybody is accounted for. Join me
:06:38. > :06:43.again before the end of the programme.
:06:44. > :06:48.Derek is with me. What caused this? It was down to a combination of
:06:49. > :06:53.factors. Strong onshore, gale force winds right on the north coast
:06:54. > :06:59.earlier today. Had a deep area of low pressure brush past close to
:07:00. > :07:03.North East Scotland. That has helped to raise the sea level especially in
:07:04. > :07:08.the north Sea that also in the Irish Sea. We had some pretty high spring
:07:09. > :07:16.tides as well. The combination of those three things created a storm
:07:17. > :07:21.surge. Causing real problems. So how great is this? It is not unusual to
:07:22. > :07:26.have stormy weather in winter but it is rarer to have a storm surge with
:07:27. > :07:33.high spring tides onshore winds occur at the same time. You may
:07:34. > :07:37.remember this did happen back in February 1990 when the north Coast
:07:38. > :07:44.was devastated by floods. That was extreme. Thankfully, the worst is
:07:45. > :07:47.over tonight. Things are calming down and water levels are beginning
:07:48. > :07:50.to drop. We will be back with you later on.
:07:51. > :07:54.Plans to raise the State Pension Age will hit people here harder than
:07:55. > :07:57.many other parts of the UK. That's one claim tonight from Plaid Cymru
:07:58. > :08:01.after the Chancellor's Autumn Statement. George Osborne set out
:08:02. > :08:05.the best economic forecast since the recession but also confirmed plans
:08:06. > :08:10.to increase the pension age to 68 for those under 50. Plaid says it'll
:08:11. > :08:15.impact on poorer areas where life expectancy can be as low as 75. More
:08:16. > :08:21.now from our political editor, Nick Servini.
:08:22. > :08:26.The rise in the state pension age will affect everyone. None more so
:08:27. > :08:31.than in Wales, according to Plaid Cymru. Latest figures show that life
:08:32. > :08:38.expectancy for the man in Blaenau Gwent is 75 and its areas with high
:08:39. > :08:48.levels of deprivation will be the ones hardest hit. There is no bright
:08:49. > :08:53.side. You have to work longer. It is going to be an uphill struggle. It
:08:54. > :08:59.is unfair but at the same time, the country has to raise many. More
:09:00. > :09:03.people are living longer. I think if people are living longer they should
:09:04. > :09:08.work longer. The Chancellor said he thought the average retirement
:09:09. > :09:15.should be about a third of people 's lives. If he raises 270, the life
:09:16. > :09:33.expectancy is 75, that is five years. This couple run a business
:09:34. > :09:44.supplying fruit machines. They have been doing well for years? You need
:09:45. > :09:47.the ?1 coin machines to start. The economy is picking up. These are the
:09:48. > :09:52.first forecast to have improved since the financial crisis began. It
:09:53. > :09:56.means for Wales exactly what it means for the country as a whole. It
:09:57. > :10:06.shows the government commitments to long plan to a sustained economy for
:10:07. > :10:10.the -- recovery for the economy. The economy is turning a corner, we are
:10:11. > :10:14.returning to growth. Even with this improved economic outlook the
:10:15. > :10:18.opposition be looking to exploit what they call a cost of living
:10:19. > :10:23.crisis. George Osborne needs to show to people that with this better
:10:24. > :10:31.economy, people will have more cash in their pockets. Are they winners
:10:32. > :10:35.or losers in Wales? The Welsh Government is going to get an extra
:10:36. > :10:39.?100 million over the next two years at a time when other Whitehall
:10:40. > :10:46.budgets are being cut. Ministers of Cardiff they say that doesn't change
:10:47. > :10:51.much. Overall, its budget has been cut in 1-point billion pounds in
:10:52. > :10:54.real terms since 2010. Three school meals are being introduced for
:10:55. > :10:58.infant school children in England and business rates are being captain
:10:59. > :11:03.England as well. Opposition parties at the Assembly are calling on the
:11:04. > :11:09.government to do the same. It said no decisions have been made yet. If
:11:10. > :11:12.we followed as the UK Government is proposing in this statement, that
:11:13. > :11:19.would take up a large proportion of the revenue increase that has come
:11:20. > :11:22.to Wales. It is now forming as finance minister to look very
:11:23. > :11:27.carefully at what has come through in terms of the many, the finances,
:11:28. > :11:32.and then it will be for the government and the Assembly to
:11:33. > :11:35.reflect on priorities. There were no jackpot giveaways in this mini
:11:36. > :11:39.bridges, the recovery is underway but it appears there a while to go
:11:40. > :11:45.yet until it pays out. Our economics correspondent Sarah
:11:46. > :11:49.Dickins is here. George Osborne says the recovery is underway. We feeling
:11:50. > :11:55.it in Wales but like those figures that George Osborne use today were
:11:56. > :11:59.averages across the UK. We also know that the south-east of England and
:12:00. > :12:08.London in particular is very hot. There is a lot of business activity
:12:09. > :12:12.going on there. That is skewing the figures across the UK. What we do
:12:13. > :12:17.know is looking at the figures up until now and we will get an update
:12:18. > :12:20.next week, up until now the value of the goods and services you and I and
:12:21. > :12:26.everyone else create in Wales per person is only 75% of the UK
:12:27. > :12:31.average. That makes us the weakest part of the UK. Next week we will
:12:32. > :12:36.know them all recites figures. Really, what we need to know is what
:12:37. > :12:40.is happening in Wales not the UK average before we can feel
:12:41. > :12:44.optimistic. He said the pain had to continue for a while. His message
:12:45. > :12:50.is, this is working but we need to do more. We know that a 4000 more
:12:51. > :12:54.people working in Wales now than there was a year ago. That is good
:12:55. > :12:59.but at the same time we know that benefits are only going to go up I
:13:00. > :13:04.want percent whereas inflation is 2%. Half the rate of inflation. In
:13:05. > :13:09.Wales we have a lot of people who are claiming benefits or a tax cut.
:13:10. > :13:13.One in five of us are. That is going to be felt in communities. In
:13:14. > :13:20.England, they had the big cuts in local authorities councils but we
:13:21. > :13:23.have still got that to come. We don't know how that is going to
:13:24. > :13:26.impact on jobs and spending in our communities. Thank you very much.
:13:27. > :13:31.You're watching Wales Today, a reminder of our top story. Caught up
:13:32. > :13:34.in the floods. A storm hits the North Wales coast causing major
:13:35. > :13:42.disruption. Derek will have the latest forecast for you later.
:13:43. > :13:45.Life-saving incubators are being installed across the Wales Air
:13:46. > :13:49.Ambulance fleet for the first time, making sure seriously ill infants
:13:50. > :13:54.get the critical care they need by air. The portable babypods have been
:13:55. > :13:58.added to the kit after a donation from one family in Aberystwyth
:13:59. > :14:09.who've had to rely on the service. Our reporter Charlotte Dubenskij has
:14:10. > :14:14.been to meet them. Three-year-old Elain is no stranger
:14:15. > :14:18.to flying in the skies. She was 12 weeks old when she was first flown
:14:19. > :14:22.to Cardiff from emergency treatment. At the time she had to be carried in
:14:23. > :14:30.her mother 's arms. Now, thanks to fundraising by her family, Wales air
:14:31. > :14:37.ambulance service has been able to buy a babypod to carry sick infants.
:14:38. > :14:42.The introduction of these will make a difference. We fry something like
:14:43. > :14:47.400 children a year, possibly about 10% of those eligible to fly in the
:14:48. > :14:58.babypod. Up until now a lot of sick children had to go in a Sea King
:14:59. > :15:04.helicopter or by road. This babypod is fit with shock absorbers. There
:15:05. > :15:07.is a thermal pad to keep the info is warm and transparent lid allows
:15:08. > :15:12.paramedics to the child during the flight. They can be fitted within
:15:13. > :15:18.minutes. Saving vital time in an emergency. Elain's family have
:15:19. > :15:23.raised ?75,000 for a number of good causes. But they say the Wales air
:15:24. > :15:30.ambulance service remains close to their Hearts. It is vital that
:15:31. > :15:41.continues in these areas. There are a lot of rule areas in Wales, often
:15:42. > :15:48.inaccessible. Especially when it is bad weather and the roads are not
:15:49. > :15:53.great. I just think they rely solely on donations. They say they will
:15:54. > :15:56.continue with their effort to keep helping others sick children in
:15:57. > :16:00.Wales. More screening is to be offered at a
:16:01. > :16:03.Llanelli school after a member of staff and three pupils were
:16:04. > :16:07.diagnosed with tuberculosis. A total of 224 pupils and 80 staff at Ysgol
:16:08. > :16:10.y Strade comprehensive are to be offered the TB testing. Public
:16:11. > :16:13.Health Wales say they don't believe there's any ongoing risk at the
:16:14. > :16:16.school. The former chief executive of the
:16:17. > :16:20.All Wales Ethnic Minority Association, AWEMA, has pleaded not
:16:21. > :16:23.guilty to three charges of fraud. Naz Malik is accused of claiming
:16:24. > :16:29.more than ?16,000 from the now defunct charity. He'll appear again
:16:30. > :16:33.before Swansea Crown Court later this month.
:16:34. > :16:36.Gwent Police say two of the people who were arrested in relation to the
:16:37. > :16:39.Kyle Vaughan murder investigation, have been released with no further
:16:40. > :16:44.action. 24-year-old Kyle Vaughan from Newbridge disappeared just
:16:45. > :16:47.before New Year's Eve last year. Two men, from Blackwood, who were
:16:48. > :16:52.arrested on suspicion of murder, have now had their bail extended
:16:53. > :16:56.until April next year. Back now to the Chancellor's Autumn
:16:57. > :17:00.Statement and what it means for us in Wales. A little more money for
:17:01. > :17:03.the Welsh Government and big changes to pensions. Our parliamentary
:17:04. > :17:10.correspondent, David Cornock, is in Westminster.
:17:11. > :17:15.Let's start on those pension changes. With me at two MPs, one of
:17:16. > :17:23.whom has discovered he will have to work until he is 68 and another one
:17:24. > :17:27.who is already beyond that age. Glyn Davies, you have chosen to work
:17:28. > :17:33.until you are 69 that they will be some of your constituents who don't
:17:34. > :17:40.want to work that long before they get a basic pension. If we live
:17:41. > :17:44.longer and we are doing, it is inevitable that if we add to keep
:17:45. > :17:50.some control of the economy we have to raise the retirement age, the
:17:51. > :17:56.pension age in line with the extent to which life expectancy is
:17:57. > :18:01.raising. With the Labour government support these changes and raise the
:18:02. > :18:05.increase? You started after all. We did and we had to recognise we are
:18:06. > :18:09.all living longer and we have to recognise that pensions have to be
:18:10. > :18:13.affordable. But we have to do this fairly, we often make sure people
:18:14. > :18:19.have got notice on these changes. We have also got to, as a is closer to
:18:20. > :18:22.the point at which we do this, we are to be mindful of the fact some
:18:23. > :18:28.people won't be able to work that long. People who are doing and some
:18:29. > :18:32.people will need to have other provision for them. We need to look
:18:33. > :18:38.at it very carefully. I have got some concerns about it and we need
:18:39. > :18:41.to see how the conservatives implemented. Let's look at the wider
:18:42. > :18:45.economy. The Chancellor is saying things are going very well, the
:18:46. > :18:50.economy is growing but in parts of Wales it does feel like that. In
:18:51. > :18:55.parts of Britain it is tough going. We had the statement today that is
:18:56. > :19:02.better than we expected. It is a lot better. The Chancellor's message
:19:03. > :19:08.was, steady as she goes. We have got a lot of work to do, many tough
:19:09. > :19:14.decisions to be taken. More cuts to come? Yes, unfortunately. The
:19:15. > :19:19.Chancellor has told as it is born of the same to stop it is great we have
:19:20. > :19:23.more growth in the economy but it is about 2.5%. The Chancellor told as
:19:24. > :19:34.it was going to be 8%. America is growing at 6%, Germany is growing at
:19:35. > :19:37.4.5%. Thank you both very much indeed. That is how it is looking in
:19:38. > :19:40.Westminster tonight. The chairman of Cardiff City says
:19:41. > :19:46.there's currently no-one on the club's board with a "football
:19:47. > :19:49.brain". Mehmet Dalman, who's an investment banker from London, told
:19:50. > :19:52.a conference that he's looking for someone with football credentials to
:19:53. > :19:56.become a director. Dalman's already introduced changes to the way the
:19:57. > :19:58.club is governed in a bid to reassure manager Malky Mackay after
:19:59. > :20:05.his Head of Recruitment was dismissed by Malaysian owner,
:20:06. > :20:12.Vincent Tan. If you look at our board today, it would be nice body
:20:13. > :20:16.who understood football. Can you imagine the board of a bank or did
:20:17. > :20:23.not understand finance? We have a board that does not have a foot ball
:20:24. > :20:27.brain. We need to find somebody. We are going to be talking about
:20:28. > :20:31.finance going forward. We need to find some body with a financial
:20:32. > :20:34.background the path for myself because we needed independent
:20:35. > :20:40.financial advice. The board should be that and each person will look
:20:41. > :20:46.way beyond the next 12 months. The club. We will support the manager
:20:47. > :20:53.wholeheartedly in establishing the best team we can. Within the last
:20:54. > :20:57.half an hour, English clubs have three confirmed they won't take part
:20:58. > :21:00.in the next season 's Heineken Cup. The unions of Wales, France,
:21:01. > :21:05.Ireland, Scotland and Italy have said they are committed to a joint
:21:06. > :21:10.competition. The Welsh regions have previously said they would prefer to
:21:11. > :21:12.join English clubs in a new tool at. -- tournament.
:21:13. > :21:15.A new partly-synthetic pitch could be installed at the Millennium
:21:16. > :21:18.Stadium in the next 12 months. The playing surface was criticised again
:21:19. > :21:22.during the recent Autumn Internationals. The Welsh Rugby
:21:23. > :21:26.Union says they'd like to replace it with a new pitch, similar to those
:21:27. > :21:29.at Cardiff City and Swansea City, with both grass and artificial
:21:30. > :21:33.fibres. It will cost more than ?3million to install and could be
:21:34. > :21:36.used for football as well as rugby. Lions hooker Richard Hibbard is the
:21:37. > :21:40.latest player who's preparing to leave Wales. He's being linked with
:21:41. > :21:43.a move to Gloucester in the summer, even though he's got another year
:21:44. > :21:47.left on his contract with the Ospreys.
:21:48. > :21:51.There's not long to go until this year's BBC Cymru Wales Sports
:21:52. > :21:56.Personality of the Year is crowned. It all happens on Monday and your
:21:57. > :21:59.vote will help decide the winner. There are five candidates to choose
:22:00. > :22:05.from - Gareth Bale, Leigh Halfpenny, Aled Sion Davies, Becky James and
:22:06. > :22:09.Non Stanford. We've been taking a close look at them and tonight, it's
:22:10. > :22:23.the turn of Becky James. Bethan Clement reports.
:22:24. > :22:27.At the Track World Championships, Becky James came the first Briton to
:22:28. > :22:33.win four medals at the event. She has got the speed, the world title
:22:34. > :22:45.at stake. Becky James is going to do it, she is the champion of the
:22:46. > :22:51.world. She won two golds. She finished the year ranked number one
:22:52. > :23:20.in the world. To vote for your favourite sports personality.
:23:21. > :23:25.This year we have text voting as well. You can text the surname of
:23:26. > :23:48.your choice. And all will be revealed on Monday.
:23:49. > :23:51.Back to our top story now. Storms have battered parts of Wales.
:23:52. > :24:00.Derek's back, so how's the next few hours looking?
:24:01. > :24:08.I think the worst is over. There are no longer any flood warnings in
:24:09. > :24:12.force just to lower-level alerts, one in Swansea Bay and on the Gower
:24:13. > :24:19.Peninsula. The highest gust recorded today were 77 mph in Capel Curig. 53
:24:20. > :24:24.mph at village Mac. The reason for the gales is this deep area of low
:24:25. > :24:30.pressure which is over Sweden. The next 24-hour, the wind will drop
:24:31. > :24:34.with much lighter winds tomorrow. A calm evening and night. There will
:24:35. > :24:38.be a few showers around mainly in the north, parts of mid Wales and
:24:39. > :24:43.Monmouthshire. Wintry in the higher ground. Otherwise dry and cold
:24:44. > :24:49.nights, temperatures inland falling close to freezing. That means a
:24:50. > :24:52.slight frost and also a few icy patches in the east. Here is the
:24:53. > :24:57.picture for eight o'clock in the morning. Much calmer than today.
:24:58. > :25:05.Watch out for ice in the north-east. A few showers likely in Deeside.
:25:06. > :25:08.Elsewhere cold but dry. The sky clear in some places and less cold
:25:09. > :25:12.in the south-west. A better day to come tomorrow, you might catch a
:25:13. > :25:26.shower but a Fenerbahce of places will miss those and stay dry. 20 of
:25:27. > :25:30.cloud, who . On the north coast tomorrow, much calmer than today but
:25:31. > :25:34.it would not rule out a few showers. Otherwise dry, lighter winds with a
:25:35. > :25:43.high of seven Celsius in Rhyl. Tomorrow night drive. They will be a
:25:44. > :25:47.few showers around. As for the weekend, mostly cloudy, a few spot
:25:48. > :25:53.of light rain and drizzle. Some drier weather as well and turning
:25:54. > :26:00.milder stop no side of any more storms out goes the next week. Our
:26:01. > :26:09.picture tonight is the Irish Sea. The wind Easington night with a much
:26:10. > :26:18.calmer day. -- the wind Easington night.
:26:19. > :26:27.What is the latest from Rhyl? This part of Rhyl are still plunged into
:26:28. > :26:33.darkness, the distiller and it just too. I am joined by Tim Jones from
:26:34. > :26:36.Natural Resources Wales. We know now the tide has receded but we got
:26:37. > :26:39.another one coming up between midnight and one o'clock in the
:26:40. > :26:46.morning. We are working closely with the local authorities in this area.
:26:47. > :26:49.We need to make sure we have looked at any problems they might have in
:26:50. > :27:00.the coastal defences and to deal with those before we have the next
:27:01. > :27:04.high tide. We seem to have lost that connection. The wintry weather
:27:05. > :27:09.playing havoc with our satellite connection. One of the worst
:27:10. > :27:14.affected areas was Rhyl. 400 people had to be taken to a temporary
:27:15. > :27:18.shelter. RNLI crews have had to rescue people from their own homes.
:27:19. > :27:22.Cars have been stuck in flooded streets as we have been seen. Rows
:27:23. > :27:28.have been closed and rain services cancelled. Don't forget that is
:27:29. > :27:31.updated at eight o'clock. Would have the latest on those floats and that
:27:32. > :27:39.extended weather forecast after the BBC News at ten o'clock. Don't
:27:40. > :27:41.forget our website as well. That is it. Good evening.