Frances inundates East Coast

The remnants of Hurricane Frances poured buckets of rain from the Carolinas to New England on Wednesday, turning the commuter rush into a nightmare and flooding people out of their homes and businesses.

North Carolina was hardest hit, with a foot or more of rain in a day and a half sending rivers out of their banks and creating mud and rock slides in the mountainous western part of the state.

At least six possible tornadoes struck parts of the state, and swimmers and anglers along the Outer Banks were warned of rip currents. Hundreds of residents fled their homes.

The National Weather Service said the town of Edgemont, 80 miles northeast of Asheville, received 16.6 inches of rain.

No deaths or serious injuries were reported.

Heavy rain also fell from South Carolina north into New England.

In New York City, more than 3 inches of rain swamped commuters. Streets and pedestrian crosswalks were flooded, some commuter trains and subway lines shut down and incoming airline flights were delayed.

The city subway system’s 301 pumps can push 17 million gallons of water out of the tunnels in a day, but they couldn’t keep up with that much rain, said Deirdre Parker, a transit spokeswoman.

More than 8 inches of rain was reported in parts of Virginia, where several tornadoes touched down and numerous roads were closed. Bob Spieldenner, Virginia Department of Emergency Management spokesman, said a twister touched down in Bowling Green about 3:30 p.m., demolishing six homes and felling hundreds of trees.

“I was napping when all of a sudden I heard an awful noise. All of these trees were down. Scared me to death,” said Mary Lee Elliott of Bowling Green, whose house narrowly missed being struck by a tree.

“Streets are closing, small creeks are rising,” Spieldenner said. “They’re still getting heavy rain.”

One terrified woman clung to a clump of trees in the middle of the Swannanoa River near Black Mountain, N.C., for more than an hour late Tuesday after water swept her car off a bridge. Rescuers extended a firetruck ladder 50 feet across the white-capped water to reach her.

“Once her car stalled, she got out and just grabbed onto the trees,” Asheville fire Capt. Ken Radford said.

Water from the Swannanoa also cascaded across roads to the Biltmore Estate, the popular tourist destination near Asheville.

Bob and Jennifer Rhea spent much of the night sandbagging their Kismet Cafe in Biltmore Village, but finally had to walk away when water inside the cafe was head high. “I don’t know if we can bounce back from this,” Bob Rhea said.

Extensive street flooding was reported in northern New Jersey, with numerous road closures, and firefighters rescued several drivers whose vehicles stalled in rising water. The flooding caused traffic delays into New York.

Authorities in Georgia reported 180,000 utility customers remained without power Wednesday because of Frances, which had moved through that state Tuesday.