Today cars were submerged, two polling stations in Kingston and one in Barking were closed, and several people were rescued by boat, as flooding affected London and the southeast. Fire brigades attended more than 400 incidents of flooded premises and properties hit by lightning. London Underground reported the closure of several different lines, with severe disruption on others. London had localised flooding, causing problems to many road users. Some areas received the best part of a month's rainfall in a few hours. A similar pattern of unusually heavy rain with consequent floods and disruption was seen last week in some other areas of the country, and in some European countries.