Torrential downpours unleashed flash floods on the US Northeast on Monday (Jul 10) that washed out roadways, overwhelmed rivers, forced numerous boat rescues and killed a woman who was swept away in front of her fiancé, officials said.
More than 13 million Americans were under flood watches and warnings from Eastern New York state to Boston and Western Maine to the northeast, the National Weather Service said in its forecast on Monday, after storms that began over the weekend inundated rivers and streams.
Private forecaster AccuWeather estimated damages and economic loss at US$3 billion to US$5 billion, preliminarily, based on its own method of evaluation.
More than 1,000 flights to and from airports across the region, including New York’s LaGuardia and Boston’s Logan, were delayed or canceled on Monday due to the rains.
Amtrak suspended passenger train service between the state capital Albany and New York City after flooding damaged tracks. Amtrak shares some of that route’s track with the Metro-North commuter railroad into New York, which suspended some service on that line and another.
New York and Vermont were the hardest hit states. More precipitation was expected overnight and into Tuesday, creating further flood hazards, the service said.
Parts of Vermont had already received between 17-20cm of rain, turning streets into raging rivers.
Source: CNA
