Powerful storms producing heavy rain and damaging winds are taking aim at the eastern half of the country, from Texas to Pennsylvania. More than 1,700 flights were canceled Friday nationwide and many of those passengers are now scrambling to find alternatives.
At Newark airport in New Jersey, more than 200 flights were canceled or delayed during the start of the holiday weekend, CBS News’ Kenneth Craig reported. The good news is that cancellations and delays have since died down significantly, but flash flood watches and flood warnings are in effect for much of the Northeast so the region isn’t in the clear yet.
Thousands were without power Saturday morning as several towns tried to recover from days of devastating weather.
In south-central Pennsylvania, a building partially collapsed Friday night in Franklin County after severe winds and a possible tornado struck. There was no immediate word on injuries.
In the South, severe weather is bringing misery for the second weekend in a row. Tornadoes, high winds and pounding rains are destroying homes and leaving some communities without power.
In Reston, Virginia, residents were cleaning up Saturday after a tornado touched down Friday night, causing a tree to fall through the roof of a home. No one was hurt.
In North Carolina, Shakena Johnson of Winston-Salem was running errands when she received a call saying a tree fell on her apartment. Tree limbs sliced through the roof of the building, forcing seven people to find a new home for the night.
Rescue crews fanned out in Black Mountain after the North Carolina city experienced heavy rain throughout the day.
The storm system is being blamed for at least five deaths since Thursday, including the death of an 8-year-old girl who was killed when a tree fell on a Florida home Friday morning.
A woman in Morton, Mississippi, managed survive, even as a twister destroyed her home.
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