The first British people had to migrate because of climate change

Mr. Paul Thomas, a 66-year-old carpenter in the Clydach Terrace area (Ynysybwl village, south Wales), remembers storm Dennis 6 years ago, when a cold “wall of water” collapsed, knocking him down right in front of his house.

Even though he was able to swim into the house, the water continued to rise rapidly, rolling the door to pieces, “gradually swallowing” each step of the stairs. “I had to hold on tightly to the water trough to avoid being pulled out by the flood current… All I could do was wait, praying for the water to recede,” he said.

Since Storm Dennis, life for people on Clydach Terrace street, located on the banks of the Nant Clydach River, has become extremely difficult. Heavy rains or orange weather warnings (the second highest level of danger warning, after red) mean that no one along the neighborhood can sleep.

For 24-year-old Caitlin Gibbs, the most terrifying memory is surviving Hurricane Bert in 2024. At that time, Gibbs was pregnant with her second child – Nyla. As for her first child, Layla, had to rely on a feeding tube before passing away from cancer. They had no way to escape the water, worried that Layla’s feeding tube would malfunction.

Ynysybwl is a former mining village located about four miles north of Pontypridd, characterized by rows of semi-detached stone houses built in the early 20th century. The village has a population of almost 4,700 people.

Due to its terrain, the Clydach Terrace area in this village is listed as one of the most dangerous areas in England, classified as “high risk to life”. The 6-year nightmare of the people here ended in early February, when the Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT) county council voted to buy back 16 of the 18 houses on the street at a cost of more than 3.5 million USD (equivalent to 90 billion VND) for demolition.

With the above decision, nearly 40 people here became the first people in the UK to migrate because of climate change. They plan to say goodbye to their neighbors and move out in September.

In fact, before making the above decision, flood risk management agency Natural Resources Wales (NRW) studied dozens of options to support Clydach Terrace after Storm Dennis, including building higher embankments, removing or expanding river drainage.

After 5 years of surveying, planning, evaluating and discussing with the RCT council, NRW in June 2025 concluded that according to UK funding regulations, there is no feasible solution that balances costs and benefits.

Mr. Andrew Morgan, council leader, said if the government does not have a viable solution, the risks to people in this area will continue to increase, and it is clear that their mental health will be affected. “Some people have developed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD),” Mr. Morgan said.

The climate crisis is changing weather patterns, exacerbating wind and rain extremes in some parts of the UK, making them more vulnerable to flooding. Storm Dennis was one of the strongest extratropical cyclones on record.

One cubic meter of water weighs about one ton, equivalent to a small car. Analysts estimate that at the peak of Storm Dennis, the River Taff, into which the Nant Clydach flows, had a water flow of up to 805 cubic meters per second. This water flow is enough to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool in just over 3 seconds.

Since Storm Dennis, storms and heavy rain have repeatedly besieged the people of Clydach Terrace for 6 years. Since then, buying insurance for real estate in this area has become impossible or extremely expensive, putting homes in an even more fragile situation.

Being supported with migration expenses made neighborhood residents, including Mr. Thomas, breathe a sigh of relief. “I will no longer feel sick every time a weather warning is sent, nor will I have to go to bed wondering ‘Will I be able to wake up tomorrow?'” he said.

Clydach Terrace’s residents are the epitome of any neighborhood in the world, as the effects of climate change grow. The neighborhood that had to migrate includes multi-generational families living together, people who have been attached to Clydach Terrace for decades, and people who are renting houses.

Mr. Thomas and his family have started looking for houses for sale in other areas of the village, to avoid having to move far from their familiar place. A young couple down the street plan to move back to their hometown of Cardiff, while Gibbs wonders about his migration options.
Clydach Terrace may be the first community in the UK to evacuate in the face of the climate emergency, but it won’t be the last.

The villages of Fairbourne in Gwynedd and Seasalter in Kent have been placed on a “controlled evacuation” list for the next 20 years due to rising sea levels, while England’s east coast is one of the fastest eroding areas in Europe. Last month, residents of dozens of cliff dwellings in Hemsby, Norfolk were asked to evacuate and given temporary accommodation.

A further 713,000 homes, mainly in Lincolnshire, Lancashire, Kent and Doncaster, will face the risk of serious flooding by mid-century, according to Byline Times.

“I really hope the government can fix the problem with the river, but they can’t do anything else. It’s ridiculous if someone thinks climate change is not real,” Mr. Thomas said.