At least five people died this weekend as a result of heavy rains that again flooded several areas in the northeastern region. The deaths occurred in Pennsylvania. The storm also severely affected air transport. Nearly 1,300 flights were canceled because of the storms, according to NBC reports,
The Excessive Rainfall Outlook for today shows the threat of heavy rain in our basin. NJ, DE, PA, MD and NY are under the highest threat. #NJwx #DEwx #PAwx #MDwx #NYwx pic.twitter.com/rnfVnBylaf
— NWS MARFC (@NWSMARFC) July 16, 2023
The storm front covered an area from Maine to Maryland, causing significant road flooding that caught residents off guard. In the town of Upper Makefield, Buck County, five people were swept away by torrents of water, according to authorities. The Upper Makefield Police Department added in a statement that two minors are still reported missing.
More video of the massive & fatal flooding scenes in upper Makefield #BucksCounty pic.twitter.com/siPFWJbXFh
— Jo Ciavaglia (@JoCiavaglia) July 16, 2023
According to authorities, the soil in the region was already saturated due to the heavy rains that have fallen in the last 12 days. This led to further flooding and landslides. The state of Vermont was the hardest hit during the preceding stage. A tornado formed over the weekend, affecting Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and New York.
The storms have virtually shut down the region's airports. According to the FlightAware website, there were 626 cancellations originating from La Guardia, JFK, Newark International and Boston's Logan International airports. Approximately 600 more cancellations to these airports. Along with this were 1,051 delays from these locations. At JFK, the rate of delays over the total number of flights was as high as 45%.
