Families count the cost of tidal surges In Hemsby, Norfolk, five bungalows and a disused lifeboat station had been swept into the sea, while a further two homes were demolished and left teetering on the edge of the cliff. Steven Connolly, 54, and his wife Jackie, 64, had decided not to retreat inland and were able to rescue their three-month-old kittens Tom and Jerry before their house of seven years was torn in two, with only the patio doors and a rear window left standing. "Suddenly we heard a shout 'it's going, it's going' and we watched our kitchen get ripped apart," Mr Connolly said. One of the worst affected areas was Boston, Lincs where some residents had only 30 minutes" notice before a three-foot wall of water washed into almost 200 homes on Thursday night. Many were still without power yesterday. Jane McGeachy, 45, said: "One minute the water was trickling over the wall and the next it was like a tsunami. Everyone was screaming and panicking when it really started coming down the road. You just don't expect it. Fears that two further tidal surges on Friday would cause more damage proved unfounded, as waters failed to reach the heights of Thursday night, when the spring tide was coupled with gale force winds. But 12 severe flood warnings - the level that indicated a threat to life - remained in place last night around Boston, The Wash and the coast of Kent, but authorities advised people to remain vigilant. Transport networks were severely affected with roads flooded and many rail services unable to run, following major disruption on Thursday from gale force winds which claimed the lives of two people. On Thursday morning Robert Dellow, 54, a lorry driver from Suffolk, was killed when winds toppled his HGV in West Lothian. Hours later John Arthur White, 83, died after being hit by a falling tree in Retford, Nottinghamshire. Most Scottish rail services reopened following a complete shutdown on Thursday, but trains in the Anglia region and north Wales, which was also hit by flooding, were suspended. Many major roads were closed due to flooding including the A12 in Blythburgh in Suffolk; A16 in Boston in Lincolnshire, the A63 in Hull and the A178 in Hartlepool. Some roads in Kent were also flooded. Thousands of families from Teesside to Essex returned to flood-hit areas yesterday morning with many anxious to discover what was left of their homes. Flood-hit communities could at least look forward to dry conditions today with bright and sunny spells expected across much of the country. After a bitter night, with temperatures as low as 27F (-3C) expected on the east coast of England, conditions should warm quickly reaching up to 8C in East Anglia and 11C in Wales.