More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
Residents of Little Venice Country Park are returning home after being evacuated amid flooding.
People were rescued by fire crews using dinghies on Friday after the Yalding caravan park became submerged in water for the second time in three weeks.
Flood warnings were in place across the county, including for the River Medway, River Teise and River Beult, which all flow through the village.
Roads were blocked including Lees Road, Symonds Lane, Hampstead Lane and Mill Lane, and several bus services were cancelled or diverted due to the weather. Overall, Kent saw 60 road closures.
In total, 63 people were helped by Kent Fire and Rescue during the evacuation, and Maidstone Borough Council provided temporary accommodation for 22.
However, many others had already arranged to stay with family or booked hotels, pre-empting the floods.
One of Little Venice's residents - who doesn't want to be named - said: "When we got the flood warning, we moved our cars to higher ground and hoped for the best."
The resident, who lives alone with her cat, was picked up by a boat on Friday morning and she waded part of the way through.
She added: "It’s very worrying all of this. It's stressful now every time it rains. It’s okay when I’m there, so I can get my cat to safety, but if I wasn’t home, I would be really worried."
She has had to evacuate her home twice before Christmas and also during Storm Dennis. Flooding has now become such a common occurrence that she even has a 'flood bag' ready, filled with essentials.
Between 20mm and 40mm of rain fell in Kent in a 24-hour period across Thursday and Friday.
This comes after the wettest February in the UK on record.
Overall, the area had 209.1mm of rain, which is 237% of the average for the month.
All flood warnings in Kent have now been removed.
And today, the council has been co-ordinating Little Venice residents' return to the site.
Press officer Julie Maddocks said: "People are returning as we speak.
"We have been liaising with the Environment Agency who say the water levels have subsided enough to make it safe for people to return."
Although rain is forecast in parts of the county for today and tomorrow, the council has been advised that it will be a steady enough rainfall, spread out over at least a 24-hour period, that it should not cause further flooding at Little Venice.
A spokesman for the Environment Agency added: "The water levels in the Rivers Teise, Beult and Medway are returning to normal and we are now working with our partners to ensure the community is getting support."
