Flash Floods in Upstate NY Disrupt Normal Life, Many Stranded
Flash floods washed out bridges, submerged vehicles, clogged yards, roads with debris and trapped dozens of people.
Video Editor: Sandeep Suman
Flash floods caused by pre-dawn downpours washed out bridges, submerged vehicles, clogged yards and roads with debris and temporarily trapped dozens of people in their upstate New York homes on Wednesday, 15 August, causing extensive damage but no reported deaths.
The worst of the flooding happened in New York's Finger Lakes region, an area flush at this time of year with vacationers, reported AP.
Rescue and relief operations are underway.
A woman sleeping in her camper was trapped inside as floodwaters swept it into one of the lakes, but she was rescued, authorities said.
Emergency crews were sent to aid about 50 people trapped in their homes by rising water, while others were evacuated by boat on Seneca Lake, Seneca County officials and Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.
County officials declared a state of emergency in the towns of Covert, Lodi, Ovid and Romulus, about 150 miles (240 kilometres) west of Albany.
The National Weather Service said up to 5 inches (13 centimetres) of rain fell in that area, prompting a flash-flood alert advising residents to seek higher ground.
New York's flooding comes a day after heavy rains triggered flash flooding in parts of central and eastern Pennsylvania on Monday, closing a heavily traveled interstate and sending water into homes in the mountainous coal regions.
(With inputs for AP)
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