Isaias whips up eastern U.S., killing at least 5

WINDSOR, N.C.

At least five people were killed as Tropical Storm Isaias spawned tornadoes and dumped rain Tuesday along the U.S. East Coast after making landfall as a hurricane in North Carolina, where it caused floods and fires that displaced dozens of people.

Two people died when Isaias spun off a tornado that struck a North Carolina mobile-home park. Another person died in Pennsylvania when their vehicle was overtaken by water and swept downstream. Authorities said two others were killed by falling trees in Maryland and New York City.

Isaias sustained top winds of up to 65 mph more than 18 hours after coming ashore, but it was down to 50 mph as of 8 p.m. Tuesday, according to the National Hurricane Center. The storm’s center was passing through the middle of Vermont, moving north-northeast at about 40 mph.

As Isaias sped northward, the National Hurricane Center warned of flash flooding in New York’s Hudson River Valley and potentially severe river flooding elsewhere.

In Philadelphia, the Schuylkill River was projected to crest early Wednesday at 15.4 feet, its highest level in more than 150 years. By Tuesday night, the river had already overtopped its banks in low-lying Manayunk, turning bar-lined Main Street into a coffee-colored canal.

Two people died after a tornado demolished several mobile homes in Windsor,

North Carolina. Emergency responders finished searching the wreckage Tuesday afternoon. Several people initially feared missing had been accounted for, said Ron Wesson, chairman of the Bertie County Board of Commissioners. He said about 12 people were hospitalized.

Sharee and Jeffrey Stilwell took shelter in their living room about 1:30 a.m. Tuesday as the tornado tore through Windsor. Sharee Stillwell said their home shook “like a freight train.”

“I felt like the house was going to cave in,” said Jeffrey Stillwell, 65, though once the storm passed, the couple found only a few damaged shingles and fallen tree branches in the yard.

The mobile-home park less than 2 miles away wasn’t so fortunate. Aerial video by WRAL-TV showed fields of debris where rescue workers in brightly colored shirts picked through splintered boards and other wreckage. Nearby, a vehicle was flipped onto its roof.

“It doesn’t look real; it looks like something on TV. Nothing is there,” Bertie County Sheriff John Holley told reporters, saying 10 mobile homes had been destroyed.