Flood Miseries Cling to Eastern Seaboard

More than 1 million people throughout the Eastern Seaboard were still reeling Saturday from the lingering effects of Hurricane Floyd. At least 41 people died, including 16 in North Carolina, as Floyd churned up the East Coast and thousands of homes and businesses were damaged.

In North Carolina, rescuers in fleets of helicopters and boats rushed to help stranded people Saturday.

Hundreds of thousands still had no electricity from North Carolina to Connecticut.

Record flooding in New Jersey receded Saturday, leaving a layer of reddish mud and residents eager to return to their homes. But several streets remained closed in the Raritan River town of Bound Brook, and National Guardsmen barred residents from returning to their homes, pending safety inspections.

High water still blocked parts of Interstates 95 and 40, North Carolina’s two busiest highways, along with more than 300 other roads. More than 5,600 people spent the night in 69 shelters across eastern North Carolina.

Supermarkets reported running out of food, and to ensure people are fed, 30 mobile kitchens have been set up in 16 counties.

Poultry, swine and crop losses made “this potentially the worst agricultural damage that eastern North Carolina has ever faced,” state Agriculture Department spokesman Jim Knight said.

Forecasters warned that more major flooding still lies ahead for the Tar, Neuse and Cape Fear rivers in North Carolina.

While the Tar River crested Saturday in Tarboro at 43 feet--24 feet above flood stage--the Neuse and Cape Fear rivers weren’t expected to crest until Tuesday, also well above flood stage.

Millions of New Jersey residents had to boil water or live without telephones or power while emergency crews worked to repair the effects of flooding at a water treatment plant, a major telephone switching station and several electrical substations, officials said.

Water service was restored Saturday to 119,000 people in Portsmouth, Va., and nearby Chesapeake and Suffolk, but residents were told to use the water only for flushing toilets.

In North Carolina, 277,000 homes remained without power. Elsewhere, more than 75,000 customers remained without power in Pennsylvania; 88,000 in New Jersey; 6,000 in Vermont; 150,000 in Maryland; 5,000 in Connecticut; 51,000 in Virginia; and 60,000 in New York.