A CAFÉ owner has said he is worried for the safety of his family and unborn child after a sea wall “crumbled like a biscuit” during a battering from Storm Imogen.
For the second time in a matter of weeks, parts of Barmouth’s sea wall have been obliterated.
Promenade Café and Wine Bar proprietor, Cengiz Olmez, who found his business badly flooded after heavy storms two years ago, watched in dismay on Monday week as the sea wall in front of his café “crumbled like a biscuit”.
“I don’t know what to do. I don’t know if my family and I are safe,” Cengiz told the Cambrian News.
“My wife, Acyin, is pregnant and we don’t know if we can have a future here. We can’t live with the threat of flooding hanging over us every day.
“This wall is not enough - it never has been - we need something better, something stronger. I was watching from my window as my garden wall was damaged and stones and water filled up the road.
“There is better technology now, there must be something the council can do but still they do nothing. I have rang them time after time but nobody ever speaks to me, I just get passed from department to department.
“This is my livelihood, my child and my family. We should be protected.”
Gwynedd Council said the wall that separates the road from the promenade is a different structure to the sea defence, and it will consider options for future maintenance.
Just before Christmas, there were similar scenes further along the seafront as sections of sea wall defending the town were washed away by an onslaught of high waves.
The slipway at the northern end of the town also collapsed.
There was further chaos in Barmouth as train services were cancelled between the town and Llanaber.
A video taken on board a stranded train has been seen across the UK as waves crash against the side of the public transport.
Boulders on the line made the route impassable causing the train to turn back.
Additionally, the Dyfi Bridge was also shut again – the seventh time in three months – after being flooded and the station at Dyfi Junction was flooded, restricting travel across north Wales.
A Gwynedd Council spokesperson said: “The dwarf wall that separates the road from the walkway promenade is a different structure to the sea defence.
“The dwarf wall has been inspected following the recent storm, and we have arranged to clear the debris and will assess the damage and consider options for future maintenance.”