Flooding Closes Dozens of Highways, Secondary Roads in Pennsylvania

Flash flooding from the aftermath of Tropical Storm Lee has forced the closure of dozens of highways and secondary roads in central Pennsylvania.

The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch for much of the region and along the East Coast. Flash flood warning has been issued on Thursday for Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has advised motorists on Wednesday not to travel if possible because of the widespread closures.

AT least three deaths in Pennsylvania have been associated with these flooding.

An elderly man was reportedly killed on Wednesday when his house's foundation collapsed while he was trying to bail water out of his basement, Police in Derry Township, Pa., told the media.

Lancaster County Emergency Management Director Randy Gockley has said a motorist trapped in a vehicle drowned early Thursday morning in Elizabeth Township, Pa.

Gockley added that responders found between 3 and 4 feet of water on the roadway as the Hammer Creek spilled over its banks. He also confirmed another death Thursday morning.

Patrick O'Rourke, Derry Township police chief, told The Associated Press that authorities recovered the body of a man in his 70s from a home after a friend reported that the man had failed to meet him as planned.

We took a direct blow yesterday, O'Rourke said. You can't get from one side of the town to the other.

He added that rescuers in his hard-hit community had to use boats to ferry trapped residents from their homes.

In one incident, a boat carrying seven residents from a flooded mobile home park capsized, and the occupants had to hold on to trees until a second boat arrived and plucked them from the water, The AP reported.

Tropical Storm Lee crept through the U.S. with heavy rainfall and increased the water level in the Susquehanna River, which runs through the city, to more than 18 feet above normal in 24 hours, according to reports.

The river is projected to peak at 41 feet between 4 and 8 p.m. on Thursday, which is the same height as the levee system protecting riverfront communities including Wilkes-Barre and Kingston, Luzerne County Management Agency official Frank Lasiewicki told The Associated Press.

New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Wednesday said the state's full response capacity have been deployed to Broome County where heavy rains from Tropical Storm Lee have caused increased flood levels.

About 125 National Guard troops with high axle clearance vehicles have been deployed along with the State Emergency Office to the area to help in rescues, Cuomo said.