Huge cliff fall in Wales as police warn people to ‘avoid the area’
‘We are aware of people gathering to take photographs - the public are advised to avoid the area until further notice’
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Your support makes all the difference.People have been warned to stay away from a huge landslide at a beach in North Wales.
The cliff fall happened on Nefyn’s coastline in Gwynedd with police warning the public to “avoid the area until further notice.”
Coastguard crews were alerted to the fall at around 12:30pm on Monday, according to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, with eyewitnesses saying that the damaged area is up to 40m (131ft) wide.
It was not just the cliffs which descended into the sea, parts of peoples’ gardens also tumbled onto the beach below.
Emergency services and utility companies are securing the area with some residents evacuated from their homes, WalesOnline reported.
North Wales Police tweeted saying: “We are aware of people gathering to take photographs - the public are advised to avoid the area until further notice.”
It appears no one was injured in the fall, with the Welsh Ambulance Service confirming they were not called to the scene.
Gwynedd Council said: “A significant landslide has affected the beach in Nefyn with a large part of the cliff having fallen on the beach earlier today.”
They added: “Arrangements have been made for an initial investigation of the cliff to be carried out.”
Meanwhile MP for Dwyfor Meirionnydd Liz Saville Roberts wrote on Facebook: “Truly shocking to see the extent of the landslide below Rhodfa’r Môr, Nefyn today.
“I have spoken with the local councillor, Gruffydd Williams, and Cyngor Gwynedd officers to ascertain that a specialist assessment will be made regarding the condition of the cliffs, and to advise nearby residents about how best to remain safe,” she added.
Christian Pilling who was on a walk in the area said they “had the shock of our lives” when they came across the scene, the BBC reported.
According to the British Geological Survey (BGS) Nefyn is located in a “subsidence hazard zone”.
This means that the coastal area has a surface geology made up of weak, superficial drift deposits of clay, silt, sand and gravel.
This is not the first time a landslide has occurred in Nefyn. Twenty years ago, in 2001, Shirley Race, 58, died when a landslide took her car over a cliff and into the sea. Her husband Donald, 63, who was also in the car was seriously injured.
Elsewhere in the UK this week another landslide saw many thousands of tonnes of cliff edge fall onto a beach located on part of the Jurassic Coast in Dorset. There was also a rockfall in Llandudno, Wales.
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