Strong storms in Tohoku region cause power outages, flooded roads, forced evacuations and killed at least 4 people
At least four people were killed in four states as powerful storms devastated parts of the East Coast over the weekend and spread into the Northeast on Monday, causing power outages, washed out roads and prompting the evacuation of local residents.
A 72-year-old South Carolina woman died after her car was submerged in water during the storm, according to the Charleston Post and Courier. The city medical examiner’s office said the cause of death was the storm, the paper said. More than 15 centimeters of rain fell in the area Sunday.
A 73-year-old Pennsylvania man died early Monday after heavy rain flooded his car, according to the Lancaster County Coroner’s Office.
A 40-year-old Maine man died Monday when he was struck by part of another tree as he went to his roof to remove part of a large tree that had fallen in the storm, authorities said.
An 89-year-old man was killed in Massachusetts on Monday after “high winds and rain caused a tree to collapse on a small mobile home in Plymouth County,” according to the area’s district attorney. The man trapped inside suffered severe head trauma and was taken to a hospital where he died, District Attorney Timothy Crews said.
On Monday, a storm system brought high winds and heavy rain across the Northeast, with water levels reportedly dropping 2 to 4 inches in much of the region in 24 hours, with more than 5 inches reported northwest of New York City. ing. Officials issued a flood warning for the Bronx on Monday night, warning of flooding in “low-lying and poorly drained areas.”
The mayor of Little Falls in northern New Jersey warned of the potential for major flooding in areas surrounding the swollen Passaic River and urged residents to evacuate their homes by midnight. The National Weather Service predicted the river at Little Falls would reach major flood stage Tuesday, and officials had previously warned the flooding could be “catastrophic.”
“Residents remain in their homes at their own risk,” said Mayor James Belford Damiano. “Flooding could pose a hazard and could prevent rescue efforts as early as overnight.”
There were multiple reports of water rescues in both Maine and New Hampshire, the National Weather Service said Monday.
Storm impacts continue
The storm moved into Canada late Monday, but its impacts continue, with the threat of flooding continuing in several areas, including parts of Maine where flash flood warnings were in effect until early Tuesday. Ta.
Windy conditions will continue across much of the Northeast on Tuesday. The rain will stop in much of the region on Monday night, but flooding in some areas may be slow to subside, with some rivers expected to remain at peak levels until Wednesday.
And while some communities are beginning to recover from the storm, hundreds of thousands of people remained in the dark Monday night.
As of 9 p.m., more than 660,000 customers in the Northeast were without power, according to poweroutage.us. The majority were in Maine, where more than 420,000 of the more than 852,000 customers tracked were without power. More than 500 flights within the United States were canceled and more than 4,700 were delayed on Monday, according to FlightAware.com.
Authorities rescued people trapped in flooded vehicles.
A dangerous morning commute occurred in the Northeast on Monday, with water rescues of motorists stranded in floodwaters reported across the region. Many streets in Danbury, Conn., were flooded Monday morning, forcing the rescue of at least four people, city and fire officials said. There were no injuries.
First responders in Paterson, New Jersey, were “on call throughout the night and into the morning” to rescue people trapped in flooded vehicles, fire officials said. Seven people were rescued from flooded vehicles in Newark, New Jersey, city officials said.
Waterways in New Jersey, New York, and New Hampshire are swollen and at some level at flood stage.
The mayor of Paterson, New Jersey, has declared a state of emergency that could extend into Thursday due to the expected severe flooding from the rising Passaic River. On the coast, stormy winds whipped across the Atlantic Ocean, causing widespread flooding in Long Island, New York, and parts of southern New England starting Monday morning.
A storm surge of more than 3 feet caused water levels in Providence, Rhode Island to rise so high that the city was forced to close the hurricane barrier gate on Bridge Street. The Army Corps of Engineers says the gate will prevent floodwater from entering downtown Providence when it’s closed.
Parts of the interior Northeast will experience snow Monday night into early Tuesday. Snow totals are expected to be minimal, with several inches possible in lake-impact areas and higher elevation areas of New York.
Catastrophic floods hit Southeast
The storm began moving north up the coast Saturday, across much of Florida, and on Sunday passed through the southeast and mid-Atlantic coast, pummeling coastal communities with high winds and sometimes record rainfall.
A flash flood emergency was declared Sunday in eastern Georgetown County, South Carolina, south of Myrtle Beach, after nearly a foot of rain fell in just a few hours.
According to the National Weather Service, water rescues were required throughout the region as flood waters rose. The area’s weather bureau said it was also receiving reports of downed utility poles, downed trees and damaged buildings in the area due to the potential tornado.
Several daily rainfall records have been set in South Carolina, including his 3.86 inches in downtown Charleston, the last record being set in 1923 by his His 1.18 inches.
Record rainfall and high winds pushed water onto the shore Sunday, causing widespread flooding in Charleston. Tide levels at the Charleston reporting station reached the highest levels ever recorded in a non-tropical system.
Rainfall has also increased in Florida. Gainesville recorded 7.29 inches before the storm and Jacksonville recorded 5.70 inches.
Strong winds of more than 80 mph continued to rock the state Sunday. Wind gusts reached 91 mph in West Palm Beach.
