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Floods across eastern United States, many stranded

Posted on: Wednesday, 28 June 2006, 13:04 CDT

By Jon Hurdle

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Floodwaters killed at least four people and forced hundreds from their homes across the eastern United States on Wednesday after days of torrential rains pushed swollen rivers over their banks.

The flooding prompted emergency declarations in New Jersey and Pennsylvania and disrupted travel from Virginia to New York.

The U.S. Coast Guard sent a helicopter to rescue up to 70 people stranded on rooftops in Wilkes-Barre, northeastern Pennsylvania. In Manayunk, a Philadelphia suburb, residents were asked to leave when the Schuylkill River overflowed its banks.

"People are being asked to seek higher ground right now," said Ted Qualli, a spokesman for Philadelphia's mayor.

In Frederick County, Maryland, officials said three people drowned after trying to cross a flooded road in their car, and two teenagers from the town of Keymar are missing, believed to have been swept away by floodwaters. In Wayne County, Pennsylvania, officials confirmed one flood-related death.

In Pennsylvania, people were evacuated from at least 11 counties after several inches of rain overnight caused rivers to overflow and prompted official warnings that water levels would continue to rise after the downpour stopped.

In Yardley, a town on the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware River, emergency officials told residents to leave their homes as the river rose.

The National Weather Service said that Montgomery County officials in Maryland have ordered a mandatory evacuation of about 500 people, prompted by the potential failure of an earthen dam on Lake Needwood.

By late morning, the American Red Cross had opened 18 shelters in northeastern Pennsylvania and was providing food and shelter to at least 500 people, said Justin Fleming, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency.

Rain in the Delaware Valley of southeastern Pennsylvania fell at a pace of between 1.5 and 3 inches during one four-hour period overnight, capping between 5 and 7 inches that has deluged the region since Friday.

With extensive disruption to roads and businesses in most of central and eastern Pennsylvania, Gov. Ed Rendell declared a disaster emergency for 46 of the state's 67 counties and New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine issued a limited state of emergency for five counties.

The heavy rain has deluged much of the northeastern United States, including Washington, where as much as 7 inches of rain fell between Sunday and Monday, causing some government buildings to close and keeping workers out of their offices.

Rivers and creeks were expected to continue to rise after the heavy overnight rain. The Susquehanna River at Bradford, Pennsylvania, was expected to crest at 28 feet on Wednesday evening, 2 feet above flood stage.

In Philadelphia, the Schuylkill River could rise to its highest level in 125 years, the National Weather Service warned. They predicted 14.5-foot (4.4 meter) crest by Thursday would match the levels seen by Floyd in September 1999.

Source: REUTERS

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