At least four people are dead and three others are missing, including a 9-month-old boy and his 2-year-old sister, after they were swept away by fast-rising floodwaters in Pennsylvania on Saturday, officials said.
“It’s very possible” there could be more victims, Bucks County Coroner Meredith Buck told the Bucks County Courier Times, part of the USA TODAY Network.
For two hours, rain fell like a waterfall, which turned a creek into a raging rapid that swept away nearly a dozen cars and more than a dozen people in what officials described as a “new benchmark” for flash flooding in Upper Makefield.
Two of the dead were found together in one area and the third was found in a separate location. All three were found outside their vehicles, Buck said. Officials are trying to sort out which vehicles belong to which victims as many drivers abandoned their cars in the water, which in some places rose to 5 feet above the roadway.
“The flash flooding caught numerous motorists by surprise and many were trapped,” the Upper Makefield Police wrote in an online update Sunday.
Heavy rain swamps parts of East Coast
Other parts of the East Coast were slammed with pounding rain, including hard-hit Vermont, which experienced days of flooding last week. On Sunday, Vermont officials were monitoring possible landslides.
“My team and I continue to monitor the situation as more rain falls in Vermont. There are flash flood warnings throughout the state today. Remain vigilant and be prepared,” Gov. Phil Scott said.
Sunday’s storms also led to hundreds of flight cancellations at airports in the New York City area, according to the tracking service FlightAware.
Parts of Connecticut, western Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire were under flash flood warnings and tornado watches, the National Weather Service said. A tornado warning was issued for an area along the Massachusetts-New Hampshire border.
Search efforts continue for Bucks County victims
Meanwhile, search and rescue efforts continued Sunday in an area that spans about 2 1/2 miles from the Delaware River back up to Houghs Creek for at least three missing people, a 9-month-old boy, his 2-year-old sister and a 63-year-old woman, officials said.
Police were able to contact family of the missing by tracking them down through license plates of cars that were swept away, Upper Makefield Fire Chief Tim Brewer said at a media update Sunday morning at the Upper Makefield Township Building.
“One family has been severely affected, and that’s all we can say at this time,” Brewer said.
At least two of the confirmed dead were swept away after they got out of their vehicles, Brewer said. Another victim was in the vehicle. Brewer believes that the drivers were caught by surprise.
“We do not think anybody drove into it,” he said. “Within minutes the road went from passable to having 4 to 5 feet of raging water.”
Fire crews responding to a utility pole that was struck by lightning happened to be in the area as the heavy rains started and were able to start rescuing trapped vehicles, three of which firefighters saw swept away in the fast- moving water, Brewer said.
Eleven vehicles were trapped in the creek, he said.
“As a witness to that, in my 44 years, I’ve never seen anything like it. When the water came up, it came up pretty quickly,” Brewer said. “We want the families of those who are lost to know they are in our hearts and we will work tirelessly until we locate the loved ones. We cannot imagine how difficult it has been at this time.”
More than 150 rescuers searched for people from the Delaware River to the flood site along Washington Crossing Road Saturday night. Eight people were rescued from cars and two from Houghs Creek, Brewer said. On Sunday morning, 100 rescuers were in the field, Brewer said.
Flood victims seek shelter
Volunteers at Washington Crossing United Methodist Church were caring for victims and providing shelter.
Family pastor Shari Bonet described a scene she called “heartbreaking,” where people sat waiting for word on their missing family members − missing wives, missing children.
“This one guy I was praying with had been on the phone with his wife when her car got stuck, and she said the water was getting too high and she needed to get out. That was the last he heard from her. They found her phone with the car, but she was still missing,” Bonet said.
Others, she said, were flood survivors seeking refuge after abandoning their cars and wading through the high waters to safety.
“They came in and were soaked. We gave them coffee, dry clothes and blankets,” Bonet said.
