Northern US battles heavy rain and flooding

The northeastern United States has been inundated with heavy rain and flooding across several states, a day after storms and flash floods washed out highways and killed one person in New York state.

Parts of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Vermont were under flood warnings, with states in the region recording rapid rainfall and "life-threatening" flash floods, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).

Rescue teams raced into Vermont on Monday to get to towns that have been unreachable since torrents of rain belted the state overnight, Mike Cannon of Vermont Urban Search and Rescue said.

A state park in Plymouth was being evacuated, and water levels at several dams were being monitored.

Heavy rains in New York state on Sunday turned streets into raging waterways, washing out bridges, leaving roads impassable and leading Governor Kathy Hochul to declare states of emergency in two counties.

The Orange County Emergency Management office confirmed that a 35-year-old woman had died in Highland Falls, in New York's Hudson Valley, where "historic floods" caused significant damage.

Hochul said the woman was swept to her death in a flash flood in the valley as she tried to evacuate her damaged house with her dog.

On Sunday, Hochul said that up to eight inches (200 mm) of rain had created "life-threatening conditions due to flash flooding."

'Catastrophic flooding'

On Sunday evening, more than 12,000 customers had lost electricity in New York, but by midday on Monday, that figure had dropped to 3,800, according to poweroutage.us.

Amtrak rail service was suspended between New York City and the state capital Albany "due to severe weather conditions" as of early morning, the company said in a statement.

Hochul said the rains appeared to be heading east to Vermont, where law enforcement earlier reported severe rain in four counties, with several roads washed out and closed.

"The expected rainfall rate is 0.25 to 0.5 inches in 1 hour," NWS said in a state alert. "Flash flooding is already occurring" and "catastrophic flooding" was expected Monday in parts of Vermont.

Governor Phil Scott declared a state of emergency.

"Swiftwater rescue teams have been staged in strategic locations throughout the state, should they be necessary to help with evacuations and rescues from floodwaters," Scott's office said in a statement on Sunday.

The heavy rains washed out and closed highways and stranded people in their cars and homes. Search and rescue teams were operating in several locations, according to various media reports.

"Several additional inches of rainfall is expected through Tuesday morning as this system slowly moves eastward", and more flash flooding is possible, NWS said on Monday.