Cardiff’s National Museum hit by ‘major flooding’ – again

The National Museum in Cardiff has been hit by flooding again due to recent heavy rain, a hearing of the Welsh Senedd’s culture committee has been told.

It was revealed in December 2023 that when a storm or heavy rain is expected, staff at the museum are put on standby in case they need to come in to remove works from the walls.

At the time, the chief executive of Amgueddfa Cymru (Museum Wales) said she was “really worried” about pieces of art, including works by Claude Monet and Vincent Van Gogh, due to the museum’s leaking roof.

At the committee meeting on 11 December, the museum’s chief executive, Jane Richardson, revealed that 10 days earlier there was “major flooding” of the ground floor and into the natural science galleries.

She said: “Those were spaces we didn’t know were a risk until the day of that flood.”

Richardson added that there had been pressure on the museum from the Welsh government to begin urgent works to fix the leaks.

However, she said that surveys needed to be carried out to identify where water was getting into the building. There was then a delay in the business case being “bounced around”.

Richardson said a consultation with the Welsh government over a promised £1.3m for the museum had been ongoing since May.

Confirmation of the money came through the day before the culture committee meeting.