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Four Die as High Winds and Rain Batter East Coast

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From Associated Press

Gusty winds and a deluge of rain ripped down power lines, tore off roofs and caused street flooding Thursday along the East Coast. At least four deaths were blamed on the storm.

In Sea Bright, N.J., heavy surf battered beaches already eroded by a December storm that caused extensive damage along the New Jersey and New York coastlines. Streets in the resort town were under water and most of the town was without electricity, said police dispatcher Daniel Belinsky.

“We have power lines down everywhere, transformers exploded,” Belinsky said. “We haven’t even seen the peak of it yet.”

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One apartment building roof was blown off and several families were evacuated, he said. A shelter was opened in nearby Rumson.

In central New Jersey, an 86-year-old man was killed when his car slid off a rain-slicked road and crashed into a utility pole, police said.

In eastern Maryland, a 24-year-old woman was killed when she lost control of her car on a rain-slicked road and crashed into another vehicle, police said.

A 42-year-old man died when scaffolding around a building project collapsed in Lancaster, Pa., where wind gusts reached 68 m.p.h., officials said.

In Virginia, a 28-year-old man was killed when a wind gust blew a tree onto his car, officials said.

Heavy rain and 70-m.p.h. winds lashed Pennsylvania, downing trees and power lines.

Winds gusted to 71 m.p.h. in New York City, and on Long Island, N.Y., homes in Southampton were flooded by tides that were up to three feet above normal.

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