Four other people, including a 9-month-old baby, are missing from Washington Crossing, Pa., authorities said.
Officials in Bucks County’s McKeefield Township said a heavy downpour hit the Washington Crossing area around 5:30 p.m. Saturday. Other parts of the East Coast experienced heavy rain, including Vermont. Officials there said landslides could be a problem as the state braces for more rain after days of flooding.
As it rains a lot in Vermont, my team and I will continue to monitor the situation. Flood warnings are in place across the state today. Stay alert and be prepared,” said Governor Phil Scott.
Sunday’s storms forced the cancellation of hundreds of flights at airports in the New York City area, according to the FlightAware monitoring service. More than 300 flights were canceled at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey alone, and more than 160 flights were canceled at New York’s Kennedy International Airport. Hundreds of flights were also delayed.
The National Weather Service has issued flash flood warnings and storm watches for parts of Connecticut, western Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire. A tornado warning has been issued for the Massachusetts-New Hampshire border.
Thousands of power outages were also reported in the region.
In Pennsylvania, meanwhile, a sudden, torrential downpour turned deadly in the town of Makefield.
Fire Chief Tim Brewer told reporters that the area received 6 1/2 to seven inches (18 centimeters) of rain in 45 minutes.
“I’ve never seen anything like it in 44 years,” he said. “When the water came out, it came out really fast. We don’t think anyone got into the car, they were active on that road at some point.”
There were about 11 cars on the road at the time, and three were taken. There was about four to five feet of water on the road, he said.
Two women and one man aged between 40 and 60 were found dead. Four people are missing, three women and one man. Among the missing was a 9-month-old baby.
Brewer declined to identify the victims, but said “a family is deeply affected.”
Eight people from the cars and two from the current survived, he said.
All three stolen cars were later recovered and no one was inside. One was about 1.5 miles from where it entered the creek.
“We’re looking at this as a rescue, but we’re confident we’re in recovery at this point,” Brewer said.
About 150 people were searching the creek during the night and 100 were walking along the creek on Sunday morning, he said.
Meanwhile, recovery efforts are underway in Vermont from recent heavy rains.
The Vermont Agency of Transportation said 12 state roads remained closed, 12 were partially open to one lane of traffic, and 87 were previously closed.
The agency said 211 bridge inspections were completed in damaged areas this week, 4 state bridges were closed and 4 city structures were closed.
Rail lines throughout Vermont were also damaged by rain and flooding, the transportation agency said. The agency said it has reopened 57 miles (about 92 kilometers) of rail lines and closed 64 miles of rail lines.
“Our crews have been working tirelessly all week to repair damaged state roads and bridges and restore the state’s transportation infrastructure for Vermonters and visitors to our state,” said Transportation Secretary Joe Flynn.