Ten dead, four missing in US floods

At least four people were missing after deadly flooding tore up highways, swept away houses and tossed vehicles around like toys in New Hampshire, authorities said.

At least 10 people died in the heavy weekend downpours or in rain-related traffic accidents from Pennsylvania to Maine. About 1,000 New Hampshire residents fled their homes in what Governor John Lynch called the worst flooding in 25 years.

State transportation Commissioner Carol Murray estimated it will take months to repair the damage, even as meteorologists cautioned that more rain was coming this week.

Three deaths were confirmed in New Hampshire. Cheshire County Sheriff Richard Foote said 14 people were unaccounted for, but the state fish and game department said later that four people remained missing.

The most severe flooding in the state was in and around Keene, where some major roads were under as much as four to six feet of water, officials said. The city had no electricity and reverberated with the sounds of generators and pumps when the governor visited.

Floodwaters tore up pavement and dug gullies 12 feet deep and 20 feet wide for miles. The destruction was one of numerous obstacles to efforts to restore power and telephone services.

Lynch has asked for a federal disaster declaration, which would make the state eligible for federal reconstruction help.

From Friday evening through to Sunday, rainstorms dumped as much as nine to 10 inches in the northwestern part of New Jersey. In New Hampshire, the storm dropped 10.8 inches in Hinsdale and 10.5 inches in Keene.

Even as hard-hit communities tried to dry out, the National Weather Service cautioned that more flooding could be on the way if rainfall exceeded the one to two inches predicted for Wednesday.

Flood watches were announced for several locations until Wednesday morning.

Dams that overflowed or came close to overflowing during the weekend were in said to be in good condition, but authorities were worried about more rain and were carefully watching the Warner and Contoocook rivers.