5 dead in flash flooding in Pennsylvania

At least five people were dead and two others remained missing Sunday after severe floods swept through areas of Pennsylvania and storms continued to threaten much of the Northeast.

In a news conference, Tim Brewer, the fire chief of Upper Makefield in the suburbs north of Philadelphia, said that 11 vehicles were trapped late Saturday afternoon by rising waters on the flooded Washington Crossing Road.

“The flash flood occurred some time after that,” Brewer said. “We believe approximately 11 cars were on the road. Three were confirmed swept away.”

Washington Crossing, with a population of less than 5,000, draws tourists year-round to the place where George Washington crossed the Delaware River for a pivotal Revolutionary War battle in December 1776.

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On Saturday, eight people were rescued from the cars, and two were rescued from Houghs Creek.

“We are treating this as a rescue, but we are fairly certain we are in recovery mode at this time,” Brewer said of the missing people.

Heavy rain was falling across the Northeast on Sunday, with flash flood warnings in effect in parts of Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, Maine and neighbouring states. An estimated 5 inches of rain fell in less than two hours on the east end of Long Island, with up to 2 inches of rain forecast for Sunday afternoon throughout the New York metropolitan area.

“We are in a very, very unstable weather condition,” said Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York, warning of the danger of flash flooding. Within moments, she said, “Your car can go from a place of safety to a place of death.”

Thunderstorms caused flight disruptions on Sunday at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey and Kennedy International Airport in New York. In Maryland, officials said that “life-threatening flash flooding” was expected.

The deluge in Pennsylvania on Saturday began around 5 pm and quickly overwhelmed storm sewers, brooks and streams.

An estimated 6 to 7 inches of rain fell in less than 45 minutes, Brewer said.

“In my 44 years, I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said. “When the water came up, it came up very swiftly.”