Officials declare 'worst is over' after US floods

TRENTON, New Jersey - Officials today declared the worst is over after the flooding that forced many thousands from their homes in the US northeast and have now turned to counting the costs of the storm.

Days of torrential rain followed by floods killed at least 16 people in the eastern United States, including those who died in storm-related road accidents.

With buildings submerged, roads washed out and rivers surging, authorities declared emergencies yesterday and ordered hundreds of thousands of people evacuated in New Jersey, New York, Maryland and Pennsylvania.

By early this morning, the threat of further damage appeared to have passed, although officials said it would take time for the water to recede.

"In terms of the flood, the worst of it is over. But we still have a long way to go in terms of cleaning it up and getting people back in their houses. The clean-up is going to be massive," said Trenton Mayor Doug Palmer.

Up to 200,000 evacuees from the historic coal-mining region around Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, were allowed to return to their homes and businesses after levees held back the Susquehanna River, which crested overnight.

"Had the dikes broken, we could have had a New Orleans type situation in Wilkes-Barre," said Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, praising emergency services for their work which included rescuing 1,200 people by helicopter, raft and other means.

Levees failed in New Orleans last year after Hurricane Katrina, flooding 80 per cent of the city.

Rendell said it was too soon to assess the damage, which he called "incalculable." "Yesterday was a war zone in the northern tier of Pennsylvania," he said on CNN.

New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine told reporters the flooding was likely to cause damage in a similar range to floods last year that caused losses amounting to US$30 million ($49.6 million).

Trenton Police Captain Joseph Juniak said the Delaware River was lower than had been predicted by afternoon. "The worst of it is over," he said.

"The hardest part after this will be getting the residents back in there," he said, adding that it could take a week.

There were 6,200 people evacuated from homes along the Delaware, Corzine said. Those who remained were urged to conserve water because floods had forced the closing of a filtration plant, leaving just a day and a half's supply of water until it was fixed.

Angela Ellis, 44, from the Island section of Trenton, asked police if she could go home, saying, "You mind if I swim into my property and grab a few belongings and swim out? All my stuff is in there."

Melvena Barnes, 26, and her one-week-old daughter, who left their apartment near the river to stay with her mother, vowed this flood was her last. "I'm moving," she said. "I've been here for four years, and the floods just keep getting worse."

New York Governor George Pataki said after visiting the flooded city of Binghamton the destruction was unprecedented and the cost could run into hundreds of millions of dollars, according to a spokesman.

The National Weather Service warned there could be evening thunderstorms across New Jersey, eastern Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland that could slow the return to normal.

- REUTERS