Northeastern U.S. mops up ahead of holidays
Storm kills at least 5
Just days before the Christmas holiday, people across the northeastern U.S. were mopping up Tuesday after a major storm dumped torrential rains and brought damaging winds from Pennsylvania to Maine, as some rivers in the region rose even higher. At least five people were killed.
Karen Williams, owner of Woodbury Mountain Toys in Montpelier, Vermont, which flooded in July and relocated across the street, said Monday’s weather put a damper on holiday business.
“It was about half of expectations,” she said.
By Tuesday, customers were calling to see if the store was open. “It’s been a good day so far,” she said Tuesday, noting this time she just got a couple of inches of water in her basement.
PORTLAND, MAINE »
In South Berwick, Maine, Jessica Hyland said her family was told they’d be without power until after Christmas — a hardship for her daughter, who is on the autism spectrum. It was also going to be difficult to finish buying holiday gifts, Hyland said.
“I’m praying that’s a mistake,” Hyland said. “I won’t be able to finish my Christmas shopping and today is the last day for most places.”
In Hallowell, Maine, just south of the state capital of Augusta, the Kennebec River was spilling over its banks. Nathan Sennett, a cook at the Quarry Tap Room in town, was wading through hip-deep water after the weather upended planning for holiday-related business.
“We were supposed to have a couple of parties today and tomorrow, and just kind of sporadically throughout the weekend,” he said. “But obviously, we’ve had to cancel those.”
Utility crews worked to restore power to hundreds of thousands of customers after the powerful storm. Wind gusts reached nearly 70 mph along the southern New England shoreline.
“It was pretty loud. The wind was pretty strong. Branches are breaking,” said Drew Landry of Hallowell, who lost power and was looking at a street that was underwater Tuesday. “All the basements are pretty much flooded.”
More than 5 inches of rain fell in parts of New Jersey and northeastern Pennsylvania, and portions of several other states got more than 4 inches, according to the National Weather Service.
Maine State Police were looking Tuesday for two people whose car was swept away by floodwaters. Some towns in Vermont, which had suffered major flooding from a storm in July, were seeing more flood damage. Seventeen people were rescued from floodwaters in Conway, New Hampshire, four of them by helicopter. Maine Gov. Janet Mills declared a civil state of emergency for most of the state.