Met Office weather warning issued as gales could reach 80mph in Kent
05:00, 20 November 2016
Kent saw flooding, fallen trees, power cuts, roof damage and travel chaos as Storm Angus lashed the county today.
Trains and ferries were cancelled, caravans were destroyed and part of the roof of a swimming pool was blown off by strong gusts.
Elsewhere, a major rescue operation was launched after a 200ft cargo ship hit a barge carrying rocks off the Dover coast.
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The storm has been battering Kent since the early hours, but started to ease in the afternoon.
A Met Office amber "be prepared" warning for wind was in place until 11am, and a yellow "be aware" warning for wind and rain until 1pm.
The coast was hardest hit. Winds of 80mph were recorded at Langdon Bay, near Dover.
The heavy rain also caused flooding in Crayford town centre where last month a burst water pipe caused weeks of chaos.
A Thames Water spokesman said: “The heavy rain in the area, together with debris blocking some of the water inlets, proved too much for the storm drains on the roads to cope with and resulted in some flooding from our sewers.
"We’ve had teams and tankers on site cleaning the roads and pavements and we expect the situation to be back to normal soon.”
Meanwhile, emergency crews were called to Hythe pool this morning after a large amount of the roof was blown off by heavy winds.
The fire service warned all down-wind residents to stay in their homes throughout the morning due to the risk of more roof damage.
In Folkestone, fierce gales destroyed caravans at the White Cliffs caravan site.
Elsewhere, fallen trees blocked the A260 Canterbury Road in Denton, and Wingham Road in Littlebourne.
There was also flooding on the A249 in Iwade, the A20 Ashford Road in Bearsted, but the roads are now passable.
Hundreds of homes across the county were affected by power cuts due to damage to overhead lines.
Police closed New Dover Road at Capel Le Ferne in Folkestone from the junction with Old Dover Road to the A20 roundabout due to a low hanging power cable.
And ferry movements at the Port of Dover were temporarily suspended due to "very high winds", with customers being advised to check with their ferry operator before travelling.
They resumed at around 11am, but disruption continued.
An advisory was also issued for travel across the Southeastern network this morning.
The train operator warned that, to protect the railway from fallen trees and other debris from Storm Angus, speed restrictions may be imposed across some parts of the network.
Most routes had reopened by 10.30am, but the Sittingbourne to Sheerness remained closed until around 2pm, with buses replacing trains.
There were also delays this afternoon between St Pancras International and Ashford International, at Faversham and at Maidstone East due to the adverse weather conditions.
A statement on the train operator's website said earlier: "On Sunday, most Southeastern trains will not run before 10:00 to allow Network Rail to make sure the tracks are clear. Details of all the affected trains are now shown in the journey planner.
"Buses that are already in place because of planned engineering works will run, but given the number of routes affected, it will not be possible to arrange any further alternative transport.
"Southeastern strongly recommend that you check your journey details before travelling."
Speaking earlier, Met Office Chief Meteorologist, Andy Page said: “Storm Angus is developing rapidly and will move northeast across southern and southeast England during Sunday morning. Southerly then southwesterly gales are likely with storm force winds developing over the English Channel and affecting some coastal districts.
"Very squally showers are also expected such that isolated gusts of 70-75 mph are also possible further inland in the Amber warning area."
Storm Angus is the first named storm of autumn 2016.
The Met Office said the bad weather was caused by "a vigorous area of low pressure expected to move northeast across southern Britain on Sunday."
Listen to kmfm for the latest travel updates.
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