Major cleanup underway after storm batters Northeastern US, knocks out energy and floods roads | EUROtoday

The newest headlines from our reporters throughout the US despatched straight to your inbox every weekday

Your briefing on the most recent headlines from throughout the US

Utility crews labored Tuesday to revive energy to tons of of hundreds of consumers in Maine and a few rivers continued to rise in New England following a robust storm that hit the northeastern U.S., drenching communities and bringing windspeeds over 60 mph (96 kph) in some areas. At least 4 folks have been killed.

“We anticipate a multi-day restoration effort involving hundreds of line and tree crews,” Central Maine Power, the state’s largest utility, posted on-line Monday night time.

Many communities have been saturated, with some getting properly over 3 inches (7.6 centimeters) of rain in the course of the storm. Some cities in Vermont, which had suffered main flooding from a storm in July, have been seeing extra flood harm. Some college districts remained closed within the area Tuesday.

More than 5 inches (13 centimeters) of rain fell in elements of New Jersey and northeastern Pennsylvania, and elements of a number of different states received greater than 4 inches (10 centimeters), in accordance with the National Weather Service. Streets have been flooded in some communities. Wind gusts reached almost 70 mph (113 kph) alongside the southern New England shoreline.

Maine Gov. Janet Mills delayed the opening of state workplaces till noon Tuesday to permit time for energy restoration and cleanup efforts from the storm, which took down many bushes and closed roads. One workplace constructing in Augusta will stay closed to take away scaffolding broken by the storm.

“If you must travel, please exercise caution and be sure to provide plenty of room for emergency first responders and for crews that are restoring power and clearing roadways,” Mills said in a statement urging people to stay off the roads, if possible.

Maine had over 430,000 customers without power as of early Tuesday, half of its utility customer base, according to Poweroutage.us.

Some rivers in the region crested. The Androscoggin River in Rumford, Maine, reached a maximum stage of 22 feet (6.7 meters) in a 24-hour period ending early Tuesday, the National Weather Service said. Flood stage is 15 feet (4.6 meters). The river was expected to fall below flood stage Tuesday afternoon.

The Kennebec River at Augusta was at 20 feet and still rising. It was expected to reach a crest of 25 feet Thursday evening, the weather service said. Flood stage is 12 feet.

Five months after flooding inundated Vermont’s capital city of Montpelier, water entered the basements of some downtown businesses as the city monitored the level of the Winooski River, officials said.

Three people were rescued from a home in Jamaica and another in Waterbury when that person’s vehicle was swept away by floodwaters, said Vermont Public Safety Commissioner Jennifer Morrison at a press conference with the governor. Several shelters were set up.

A numbers of roads were also closed around the state due to flooding, including in Londonderry and Ludlow, the southern Vermont communities that were hit hard by flooding in July.

“Although there will be damage to infrastructure, homes and businesses, we do not expect this to be the same scale as July,” stated Gov. Phil Scott. “That being said, some of the places that were impacted in July are currently experiencing flooding once again. So for them, this is July and it’s a real gut punch.”

Early within the storm, the climate service issued flood and flash-flood warnings for New York City and the encircling space, elements of Pennsylvania, upstate New York, western Connecticut, western Massachusetts and elements of Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.

An 89-year-old Hingham, Massachusetts, man was killed early Monday when excessive winds brought about a tree to fall on a trailer, authorities stated. In Windham, Maine, police stated a part of a tree fell and killed a person who was eradicating particles from his roof.

In Catskill, New York, a driver was killed after the automobile went round a barricade on a flooded street and was swept into the Catskill Creek, the Times Union reported. A person was pronounced lifeless in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, after he was present in a submerged automobile Monday morning.

On Sunday in South Carolina, one particular person died when their automobile flooded on a street in a gated neighborhood in Mount Pleasant.

___

Rathke reported from Marshfield, Vermont. Associated Press reporters David Collins in Hartford, Connecticut, Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire, Bruce Shipkowski and Michael Catalini in Trenton, New Jersey, Michael Casey in Boston and Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina, contributed to this story.