Torrential rains have forced authorities to order the evacuation of 200,000 people in the Wilkes-Barre area as the Susquehanna River rose to record levels.
Thousands more were ordered to leave their homes in New Jersey, New York and Maryland. Across the region, rescue helicopters plucked residents from rooftops as rivers and streams surged over their banks, washed out roads and bridges and cut off villages.
Wilkes-Barre, a northeastern Pennsylvania city that was devastated by flooding in 1972 by the remnants of Hurricane Agnes, is protected by levees. But county officials said the Susquehanna was expected to crest just a few feet from the tops of the 41-foot floodwalls.
Luzerne County Commissioner Todd Vonderheid said officials worried about the stability of the levees because the water was expected to press up against them for 48 hours.
"It is honestly precautionary," Vonderheid said. "We have great faith the levees are going to hold."
It's been awfully wet in the Northeast these past few days.
There’s been record rains and flooding all over New England. Oddly, no looting or rioting though.