About 700 people had to leave their homes in West Sussex after a gas leak, which police have declared as "a major incident".
Emergency services were called to flats in Milton Mount Avenue, Crawley, at 00:20 GMT and evacuated the block.
Some residents have been placed in temporary accommodation.
Leah Hicklin lives on the top floor of the eight-storey block. She and her four-year-old daughter had to leave with nothing but their pyjamas.
She said: "I think people are annoyed at being woken up and displaced, but it is what it is, you can't help a gas leak."
Det Ch Supt Steve Rayland thanked people for their patience and said it may take "several more hours" to get people back in their homes.
He urged everyone to stay away from the area.
There are currently no reports of any injuries.
Dan Brown, from gas company SGN, said their engineers have found the source of the leak - a broken pipe - and repairs have been made.
They will remain on site throughout the day to carry out safety checks, and monitor gas readings inside the block of flats.
He said: "When it's been fully ventilated we'll be able to allow the residents to return to their properties. We're hoping that's something we'll be able to do later today."
Those who were able to stayed with friends or family overnight, everybody else was placed in hotels by the local council.
Local ward councillor Tina Belben said they could not open up a rescue centre because of Covid-19 restrictions.
The multi-agency response involved Sussex Police, West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service, South East Coast Ambulance Service, West Sussex County Council, Crawley Borough Council and SGN.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiNWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jby51ay9uZXdzL3VrLWVuZ2xhbmQtc3Vzc2V4LTU1NTU2NTU20gE5aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYmJjLmNvLnVrL25ld3MvYW1wL3VrLWVuZ2xhbmQtc3Vzc2V4LTU1NTU2NTU2?oc=5
2021-01-06 08:41:00Z
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