Thunderous storms and flooding are expected, and communities have been urged to prepare for the imminent downpours.

People in the south east have been warned by the Environment Agency (EA) of incoming thunderstorms with heavy rainfall forecast overnight and into Thursday morning (June 23).

Storm clouds will continue gathering intermittently through to Friday morning leading to possible flooding, with parts of Kent among areas that could be hit.

The EA is opening incident rooms and will be tracking the weather system.

The agency’s teams on the ground are working with partners to reduce the risk of flooding and are supporting local authorities which will respond to reports of surface water flooding.

There is a possibility that flood alerts and flood warnings may be issued over Wednesday night and into Thursday morning.

People are encouraged to know their flood risk and check the Environment Agency website for the latest information.

Ian Nunn, Environment Agency manager, said: ‘“Thunderstorms are expected to bring heavy rain at times across the south east overnight into Thursday morning, and intermittently through to Friday morning, which may lead to surface water flooding in some communities, and significant disruption to travel, particularly in parts of Kent, East Sussex and Brighton & Hove.

“There is also a risk of flooding from smaller, faster responding rivers in built-up areas.

“Also, people should stay safe by not going near or trying to drive through fast moving water.

“Just 30cm of floodwater is enough to move a car.’’

People are advised to check their flood risk by clicking here or by signing up to Floodline on 0345 988 1188.