Storm Eunice in Kent: Rail services disrupted and thousands still without power
05:00, 19 February 2022
updated: 19:05, 19 February 2022
Major disruption to travel continued in Kent today, with tens of thousands of homes still without power - while another wind warning was put in place.
Smashed cars, fallen trees and even a toppled power station tower were among Storm Eunice's casualties of yesterday.
The ferocious weather hit Kent hard throughout the morning and afternoon, with wind speeds reaching 90mph and waves crashing over sea walls.
The county-wide repair bill is set to reach into the millions following the damage dealt by the dangerous storm.
More than 23,000 people in the county are still without electricity this evening, and UK Power Networks says restoring power will be a "multi-day" event.
In Hadlow a fallen tree brought down a power cable on the A26 The Square between Common Road and The Two Brewers pub. The road is closed in in both directions as a result.
According to some residents, power is not due to be restored until Sunday, but the community is rallying together to help those without power.
Those with it are offering people places to charge phones and giving out necessities to keep people going.
Gusts of over 50mph were expected this afternoon, with rain at various times throughout the day. A yellow wind warning was in force from 6am until 6pm.
There was still significant disruption to rail services today.
Trees were reported on the line at Maidstone Barracks, Kearsney, Longfield, Tonbridge and Broadstairs.
The Sole Street line was closed between Rochester and Swanley and between Dover Priory and Faversham via both Canterbury East and Ramsgate.
Services between Maidstone East and Otford were also axed. There was also disruption on the Paddock Wood line, the Hastings line is closed from Tunbridge Wells, with further disruption on the Sheerness line and High Speed services via both Ashford and Gravesend.
Southeastern says there are range of changes to the timetables, and passengers are advised to research before travelling.
On the roads, lorries were queueing on the M20, waiting to get into Eurotunnel. Dover TAP was also enforced on the A20, but shortly before 5pm this afternoon it was stood down.
Several other roads across the country are blocked by fallen trees and power cables. In Paddock Wood, police are blocking entry to Mile Oak Road due to fallen cables.
And this afternoon there were long delays and queuing traffic for five miles at the Dartford Tunnel due to earlier emergency pothole repairs.
All lanes later re-opened but congestion did reach back to Junction 3 for the Swanley Interchange.
Other road closures because in the county today included Grove Road, Wickhambreaux, Rheims Way, Canterbury and Bridge Hill, in Barham.
Martin Mill, Lucerne Lane near Dover is also closed near the level crossing due to a large fallen tree, motorists are being told to find alternative routes.
And the A227 Wrotham Road in Meopham was closed in both directions between Longfield Road and Shipley Hills Road due to a scaffolding failure. Peens Lane in Boughton Monchelsea was also closed near Wierton Hill due to trees which have fallen on to a BT Cable.
And Botsom Lane in West Kingsdown, was also closed near Carter Avenue due to a tree that had fallen onto power cables.
For more updates visit our live Kent travel blog.
Earlier this morning 33,000 people in Kent woke up without power.
In a statement on its website, UK Power Networks said: "The weather caused a month’s worth of faults in a day. Our equipment has been damaged in more than 1,800 locations.
"We have managed to restore more than 84% of those affected, by remote control so far.
"Now winds have subsided, engineers are working to locate, assess and begin repairing damage to restore supplies as quickly as possible.
"We will be prioritising damage affecting the largest groups of customers first. We are working hard to restore all supplies as quickly as possible, although this is a multi-day event."
Port Lympne and Howletts wild animal parks also remained shut throughout today, while Leeds Castle was closed this afternoon and will also close tomorrow and Monday.
The castle's estate has suffered "significant damage" and teams need to carry out a clean-up operation.
The disruption came after a red alert was in place for the south-east yesterday, for the first time since the warning system was introduced 11 years ago.
It meant there was a danger to life.
Thankfully, there were no reported fatalities in the county as a result of the storm.
Toby Howe, senior highway manager at KCC, said: “We are over the worst, but warnings remain in force and it will continue to be blustery.
"Given there has been some structural and tree damage and things like chimneys and hoardings may be a bit weakened a little bit more wind on Saturday could continue to give us problems so people should stay vigilant.
“There have been major impacts on the roads, at ports and in communities over the past day.
“Kent Police received five times the number of 999 calls on Friday they usually receive in one day.
“Now our attention turns to clean up and getting Kent back up and running as it has been hard for crews to get out and about safely in Friday’s very high winds.”
Kent Fire and Rescue Service had dealt with more than 90 incidents by mid-afternoon yesterday, while dozens of power cuts blighted homes.
Train, ferry and bus services were axed and there were widespread problems on Kent's road network, with the M20, A2, Dartford Crossing and Sheppey Crossing among those to face closures.
Almost all of the county's top attractions - ranging from the Designer Outlet, to wild animal parks and castles - remained shut to the public throughout the day.
County Square shopping centre in Ashford was still half shut following damage to its roof yesterday. However, shoppers could access half of shops today as part of it did open.
Alarmingly, the middle chimney of the power station on the Isle Of Grain collapsed in the early afternoon on Friday. The site has since been taken offline, and bosses at the station say "there is no risk to the local community".
The most sensational damage to residential property came at Ashford's Repton Park estate, where masonry came crashing down from the fourth storey of a block of flats.
Clive Bellinger was sat in his kitchen when police evacuated the block. "The police came around and evacuated the entire building, getting us down the stairs as quickly as possible," he said.
"Less than a minute or two later, a whole chunk just came off and flattened a car."
Away from Kent, winds of 122mph have been provisionally recorded at the Needles on the Isle of Wight, which, if verified, would be the highest ever recorded in England.
The previous record was 118mph at Gwennap Head in Cornwall in 1979.
John Curtin, executive director of operations with the Environment Agency, said: “Every storm seems to be breaking records.
“I have been doing this for 30 years and the weather seems to be just getting worse and worse.
“I think this is showing climate change in action.”
Elsewhere, Royal Mail said it “had no choice” but to suspend deliveries in parts of the country due to safety concerns.
Three people are reported to have been killed in the country as a result of the storm.
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