Shepway hit by Flash Floods and Power Cuts after Severe Storm

The BBC report that residents across Shepway and East Kent are spending the day mopping up after a night of storms on Tuesday evening brought flooding and power cuts to thousands of homeowners. Two inches of torrential rain fell in places between around 6 and 9.30pm, with parts of Folkestone, New Romney and Dover the worst affected.

Kent Fire and Rescue said it took more than 400 emergency calls in a three-hour period on Tuesday night.

Prominent Marsh Environmental Campaigner Malcolm Dyer from New Romney is reported as having to watch as four inches of water washed across his living room. "It came in like a stream. There was nothing we could do."

The sudden downpour caused flash floods across a wide area of east Kent, with the emergency services taking calls from Margate down the coast to Hythe.

Shepway Council said its emergency line was inundated with calls about "major storms and flooding in all areas".

Council spokeswoman Sarah Smith said many roads were flooded because the drains were unable to cope with the amount of rain that fell.

EDF Energy said the storms had damaged overhead cables, leaving several thousand customers still without power on Wednesday morning.

It said areas affected included parts of Folkestone, Richborough, Wingham, Westgate, Warehorne, Deal, Maidstone, Headcorn, Burwash, Hawkinge, Shepherdswell, and Betteshanger.

The company said it was "working hard to restore power as quickly and as safely as possible" and additional teams of engineers had been drafted in.