Four missing after flash floods hit New York
• Flash flooding washes out roads in Catskill Mountains
• Four people missing; witnesses say two swept away by waters
• One death blamed on storms elsewhere in the state
• Power outages across state cut off service to thousands
ROSCOE, New York (AP) -- Severe thunderstorms caused flash flooding that washed out roads in the southern Catskill Mountains, and police said at least four people were reported missing Wednesday.
One death was blamed on the storms elsewhere in the state.
Up to eight inches of rain fell in two hours late Tuesday as the storms rolled across the region, washing out roads and homes and slamming trees into bridges in the rural area.
No deaths had been confirmed in the Catskills flooding, but 75 to 100 state troopers assisted by officers from other agencies were searching for four people Wednesday afternoon, said Sgt. Keith Hocker. He said witnesses saw two of the missing people being swept away by high water.
"We have helicopters, we have people on the ground, we have divers," Hocker said of the search.
Several houses "were pushed around" by high water, Roscoe Fire Chief Steve Chesney said.
Details about conditions in the Roscoe area were sketchy, in part because telephone lines were down and cell phone service is spotty in the rural area 100 miles northwest of New York City.
Scattered power outages across the state cut off service to several thousand customers.
One man was killed by a falling tree at Rochester as wind gusted to 65 mph in the area, fire Capt. Dan McBride said.
Earlier in the week, thunderstorms poured nearly a foot of rain on parts of northern Texas, causing flooding blamed for six deaths.
