Up to 200,000 evacuees from water-logged Wilkes-Barre were told they could go home on Thursday after levees held against flooding water, but swollen rivers threatened other north-eastern US towns.
New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine told reporters water levels along the Delaware River could crest in the afternoon near 25 feet, a level that would rival floods of last year, and could lead to "serious dislocation in the island area" around the state capital of Trenton.
Days of torrential rain followed by floods had killed at least 16 people in the eastern United States by late on Wednesday, including several storm-related road accidents.
With buildings submerged, roads washed out and rivers surging, authorities declared emergencies and ordered hundreds of thousands of people evacuated across much of New Jersey, New York, Maryland and Pennsylvania.
Authorities said they would be assessing damage to underground utilities such as gas and sewage that could be damaged, as well as to homes and businesses in the area. Wilkes-Barre residents were expected to be allowed to go home in the afternoon. The National Weather Service warned there could be severe thunder storms across New Jersey, eastern Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland later in the day.
Binghamton, New York, remained partly flooded and the nearby town of Conklin was the worst hit in the area, according to Broome County spokeswoman Darcy Fauci. Hundreds of people were airlifted from Conklin and Fauci said it would take days for the water to recede. The National Weather Service was warning of floods in large parts of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland.
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