Swamped East Coast Bailing Out From Violent Storms

Roadways flooded from New England to Florida, and “it stinks.”

ByABC News
May 1, 2014, 8:41 AM

May 1, 2014— -- Violent storms drenched the East Coast, leaving roadways flooded and snarling travel from New England to Florida.

In Philadelphia, emergency crews had to save three people from the top of a public transport bus.

In Delaware, nine children and a school bus driver had to be rescued after their bus got stuck in high waters.

Baltimore was also soaked, with 24 hours of pounding rain gnawing away at roads, causing at least 10 cars to fall onto railroad tracks after the road gave way.

“The sidewalk’s gone, the cars are gone and everything just fell,” said Diane Shaw, who works near the site. “It was like somebody came by and just ripped off the side of the road.”

PHOTO: A pedestrian crosses the street in a rainstorm, April 30, 2014, in Philadelphia.
A pedestrian crosses the street in a rainstorm, April 30, 2014, in Philadelphia.

New York City commuters faced delays this morning after a retaining wall collapsed onto Metro-North rail tracks in nearby Yonkers.

Florida has been slammed by nearly 2 feet of rain in the past 24 hours, a continuation of a deadly storm system that brought tornadoes and flooding across the central and southern United States.

For Washington, D.C., resident Monica Lester, the heavy rain wasn’t just annoying; it became a health hazard after Lester’s basement filled with several feet of sewage water.

“The floors are buckled up. I have hardwood floors down there,” Lester said. “It’s a mess in my house. It stinks.”