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EU referendum voters wade through water as floods hit south-east EU referendum voters wade through water as floods hit south-east
(about 7 hours later)
People heading to polling stations to vote in the EU referendum have had to wade through deep waters, as torrential rain fell on parts of London and the south-east, flooding homes and causing severe travel delays. South-east England faces further thunderstorms overnight after downpours disrupted voting in the EU referendum, flooded homes and caused severe travel delays.
Related: Voting begins in EU referendum as polls say result too close to call Thousands of commuters were stuck at Waterloo station as trains were either delayed or cancelled because of flooding, with several people tweeting that they would miss the 10pm deadline to cast their ballot. Waterloo is one of London’s busiest stations and many early morning commuters would have waited until tonight to vote.
London fire brigade said it had dealt with a day’s worth of calls in just 90 minutes, including buildings struck by lightning and flooded shops and houses. Or maybe stuck at Waterloo, watching the crowds, destined to rue my missed vote for evermore pic.twitter.com/QuSeg918iq
“Between around 1.30am and 3am our control officers took over 300 calls – around as many as they would receive in an average day,” a spokesman said. Even before what some described as “carnage” at Waterloo, torrential rain seeped into polling stations, with one voter in Chessington describing how she had to be carried over the water. Another said she had seen people “rolling up trousers and removing shoes to wade barefoot through dirty water” to vote.
The Environment Agency issued four flood warnings covering rivers in Bromley, Sidcup and Basildon, and 22 flood alerts across the south-east, with the showers expected to ease off mid-morning and intensify again during the afternoon.
People on social media described rain seeping into polling stations, with one voter in Chessington describing how she had to be carried over rivers of water.
Another said she had seen people “rolling up trousers and removing shoes to wade barefoot through dirty water” to get in to vote.
Kingston council has closed one of its polling stations, in Devon Way, due to flooding, telling voters to go to the Hook Centre instead.
Some have raised fears that driving rain could affect turnout, though many others reporting long queues at polling stations, despite the wet weather.
However, across the rest over the country, especially northern England and southern Scotland, voters are enjoying balmy weather, with sunshine and temperatures up to 20C, so the weather is unlikely to affect turnout in the majority of the nation.
The deluge caused several tube stations across London Underground to close due to flooding during the morning rush hour, including Embankment, Tooting Broadway, Lambeth North, Borough and Canning Town.
The District line on the tube, the Docklands Light Railway and the London overground network were all suspended or delayed because of flooding.
300 '999' calls as we attend floods & lightning strikes in #londonstorm https://t.co/wtHRVVOOhG pic @globalsnewsroom pic.twitter.com/aYjMhhqf6H
On the rail networks into the capital, Gatwick Express southbound services were suspended, and delays and cancellations meant misery for commuters on South West Trains, Southern and Greater Anglia services.
Greater Anglia have asked customers not to travel into London unless absolutely necessary because of heavy rain flooding the railway at Manor Park in east London, causing severe delays and cancellations of services into Liverpool Street from towns including Norwich, Ipswich and Colchester.
Train travel from Southern rail was most severely affected because of the flooded line at Wandsworth Common, with disruption likely to continue until the end of services on Thursday night.
Picture of the heavy flooding currently blocking the lines at #ManorPark pic.twitter.com/TdxHApMJPT
Two of four lines through the area have now re-opened, Southern Rail said, but flooding is also affecting lines from Redhill to Tonbridge and the Milton Keynes route through Imperial Wharf.
Flooding has affected the signalling system into London Victoria, with many Southeastern and South West Trains services cancelled. Southeastern said any services that were able to run might be subject to considerable delay.
Related: Flooding in south-east England: are you being affected?Related: Flooding in south-east England: are you being affected?
South West Trains said that due to heavy rain, water levels in Fulwell tunnel in south-west London have gone above the top of the rail, meaning it is not possible to run trains through the affected area. Trains that normally run between Waterloo and Weybridge via Staines are unable to run, because of lightning damage to rail lines. Kingston council, in south-west London, closed one of its Devon Way polling station because of flooding, telling voters to go to the Hook Centre instead. A polling station in Dover experienced a power outage because of the storms and had to run on a generator. A Dover district council spokesman said the outage “did not affect opening” because the generators were turned on in time for the 7am start.
Drivers in rush hour also experienced severe delays reaching London, with the Blackwall tunnel shut earlier on Thursday morning and the North Circular closed at Waltham Forest. There were concerns that heavy rain could affect turnout, but there were reports of long queues at polling stations despite the downpours. In the rest of the country, especially northern England and southern Scotland, voters enjoyed balmy weather, with sunshine and temperatures up to 20C.
Roads in Battersea in south-west London, Barking in east London and Lewisham were under several inches of water on Thursday morning, flowing up to knee-height and into ground floor homes in the Longbridge Road area of Barking. Forecasters said on Thursday that more stormy weather was expected in the south-east later on Thursday.
The violent and thundery showers in the southeast have led to some flooding. Further showers are expected later.https://t.co/sxQVH2XuZn
“Another wave of thunderstorms breaking out across south-eastern UK this afternoon and evening is likely to bring some thunderstorms into the London area,” said the Met Office’s chief forecaster. “Whether these storms are as severe as those of last night is, at this stage, uncertain, but in view of storms being expected during the afternoon and evening, impacts may be as widespread as those of last night and first thing this morning.”
The London Fire Brigade’s 999 office received more than 550 weather-related emergency calls and firefighters attended more than 400 incidents overnight.
In Romford, about 60 homes on either side of Lodge Lane on Penn Gardens and Frinton Road were flooded to a depth of about 1 metre after the river Rom burst its banks.
Real progress being made in #Romford crews pumping water away from a few houses more here: https://t.co/wtHRVVOOhG pic.twitter.com/5au0WI370R
“We’re using rescue boats to get people safely out of their properties if they want to leave them to go to work or out to vote. We’re also pumping away water and using sandbags to try and prevent more homes from flooding where we can,” the station manager, Rod Vitalis, said from the scene.
Flooding caused widespread disruption for commuters. Network Rail said it had 1,200 engineers working on weather-related issues across the network. The District line, DLR and London Overground were all suspended or delayed because of flooding.
Many of London’s roads were affected by localised flooding, including the North Circular, which was closed at Waltham Forest. Roads in Battersea in south-west London, Barking in east London and Lewisham were under several inches of flooding on Thursday morning, with water flowing up to knee height and into ground floor homes in the Longbridge Road area of Barking.
Flooding caused several stations across the London Underground to close during the morning rush hour, including Embankment, Tooting Broadway, Lambeth North, Borough and Canning Town.
On the rail networks into the capital, Gatwick Express southbound services were suspended, and delays and cancellations meant misery for commuters on South West Trains, Southern and Abellio Greater Anglia services.
Greater Anglia asked customers not to travel into London unless absolutely necessary because flooding of the tracks at Manor Park in east London was causing severe delays and cancellations of services into Liverpool Street from centres including Norwich, Ipswich and Colchester.
#PoorWeatherSouth Video of flooding at Manor Park today. pic.twitter.com/8aMN1I63FY
Southern rail passengers were most severely affected by the flooded line at Wandsworth Common, with disruption likely to continue until the end of services on Thursday night. The network urged customers to start their journey home as early as possible.
Mike, a 24-year-old medical student, said he woke up to power cuts and inches of water in his flat in Canada Water, east London. “Our flat flooded overnight. I woke up to find that my room was covered in two inches of water. The perils of living in a basement flat I guess. I definitely didn’t enjoy spending an hour trying to unclog all the drains before knocking on all the neighbours’ doors to find a sofa to sleep on,” he said.
The Environment Agency issued six flood warnings covering rivers in London and Essex, and around 40 flood alerts across the south-east. Several rivers in the region hit their highest level on record over the past 24 hours.
These included the rivers Rom, Wandle, Shuttle at Bexley, Ravensbourne at Bromley and Ingrebourne near Rainham, and Beverley Brook at Wimbledon. The storms saw Surrey, Hampshire and Essex record more than 30mm of rain overnight.