Ivan's Reach Extends to N.Y.

CASHIERS, N.C. – The remnants of Hurricane Ivan (search) made a violent mark across the Southeast and the Appalachians, where several people were killed by falling trees and floods that washed away scores of roads. Search teams were sent to scour damaged areas for stranded residents.

Utility companies said more than 213,000 customers still had no electricity Saturday in North Carolina, with 67,000 blacked out in West Virginia, 64,000 in western Pennsylvania, 17,900 in Maryland and 6,200 in Ohio.

Wind reached 60 mph and as much as 12 inches of rain fell Friday in North Carolina's mountainous western tip, which was still sodden from Frances' floods last week. As the remnants of the storm pushed north, flooding (search), mudslides and tornadoes hit states including West Virginia, where more than 3,000 people were evacuated.

On Saturday, heavy rain fell across eastern sections of Pennsylvania and New York state and into New England.

Meteorologists warned of major flooding along the upper Ohio River (search) and West Virginia residents were being evacuated Saturday from riverside areas in Wheeling, where the river is expected to crest Sunday at 10.8 feet above flood stage, and downstream in Moundsville. Flood warnings also were posted along the river's Ohio shore.

Firefighters and emergency crews went door to door in Moundsville to warn residents that the Ohio River was rising into the town.

"We have two blocks up from the river that are already covered," said Moundsville Police Chief Jim Kudlak. "I think we're expecting another 5 to 7 feet."

Tornadoes in West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle, just west of the Washington area, collapsed buildings and tossed several tractor-trailers onto their sides on Interstate 81, causing at least six injuries, emergency officials said.

Across West Virginia, flooding and mudslides blocked 207 roads and damaged hundreds of houses, authorities said. Gov. Bob Wise declared a state of emergency and nearly 200 National Guard soldiers were on duty.

Ivan was downgraded to a tropical depression by the time it reached North Carolina late Thursday, as was Hurricane Frances when it arrived Sept. 7. North Carolinians had little time to recover between the storms.

Ivan and its remnants were blamed for 43 deaths in the United States, 16 of them in Florida. The latest were two people killed Saturday in Maryland when a tree was blown into a mobile home, and one Ohio traffic death. The storm also was blamed for 70 deaths in the Caribbean.

Two adults and a toddler were killed Friday in North Carolina's Macon County, in the southwest corner of the state, when a wall of water smashed a community of 30 homes to bits, said Rob Brisley with the state Office of Emergency Management.

"There was no warning," said Tim Shirley, whose mother-in law was killed and father-in-law was missing. "The kids were watching TV, and then the power cut out, and it was just like, boom, life changes."

As of Saturday morning, 119 primary and secondary roads were still impassable in western North Carolina, said Renee Hoffman of the State Emergency Response Team. That included a stretch of Interstate 40 spanning the North Carolina-Tennessee line.

Water began receding late Friday, but Hoffman said the danger was not over. "We're asking people to hold off with outdoor activities, with camping, kayaking, hiking, because there's still the potential for flash floods," she said.

In Virginia, tornadoes toppled trees, damaged buildings and prompted the governor to declare a state of emergency Friday.

Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell declared a disaster emergency late Friday in four western counties as record rainfall prompted widespread evacuations. One man was missing. High water still blocked many low-lying roads in central and western Pennsylvania on Saturday.

In downtown Pittsburgh, Point State Park was underwater Saturday where the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers join to form the Ohio. Dozens of boats that had broken free of their moorings were floating down the fast-rushing rivers.

In the village of Amesville, Ohio, 115 youngsters spent the night in their elementary school because of flooded roads. The children slept on carpeted classroom floors, wrapped in blankets that the Red Cross brought in by boat, said librarian Patti McKibben.

Mudslides covered roads in Ohio's Meigs County, where high water stranded people in homes that lost electricity and phone service, said sheriff's office dispatcher Cookie Cassady. "It's just a mess," she said.