Apr 15, 2:53 PM EDT
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Intense Storm Cancels Flights, Threatens Floods*

By KAREN MATTHEWS
Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK (AP) -- A powerful nor'easter pounded the East with wind and
pouring rain Sunday, grounding airlines and threatening to create some
of the worst coastal flooding in 14 years.

The storm also flooded people out of their homes in the middle of the
night in West Virginia. Other inland states faced a threat of heavy snow.

One person was killed as dozens of mobile homes were destroyed or
damaged by wind in South Carolina. The storm system already had been
blamed for five deaths on Friday in Kansas and Texas.

The Coast Guard had warned mariners to head for port because wind up to
55 mph was expected to generate seas up to 20 feet high, Petty Officer
Etta Smith said Sunday in Boston.

Airlines canceled more than 350 flights at the New York area's three
major airports, said Steve Coleman, a spokesman for the Port Authority
of New York and New Jersey. More cancellations were expected throughout
the day.

The storm also rained out Sunday's Washington Nationals game with the
New York Mets at New York's Shea Stadium, the Pittsburgh Pirates home
game against San Francisco, the Houston Astros at Philadelphia, the
Kansas City Royals at Baltimore, and the Los Angeles Angels at Boston.
Last weekend, snow dumped by another major storm system wiped out
scheduled Mariners-Indians games at Cleveland for four straight days.

Heavy rain and thunderstorms extended from Florida up the coast to New
England on Sunday. Wind gusted to 71 mph at Charleston, S.C., the
weather service said.

Storm warnings and watches were posted all along the East Coast, with
flood warnings extending from North Carolina to the New York area.
Winter storm warnings were in effect for parts of New England and
eastern New York state.

Meteorologists expected sustained wind of 40 mph and a storm surge of 3
to 5 feet, a combination that could cause as much coastal damage to New
York's Long Island as a winter storm that wreaked havoc there in late
1992, Gov. Eliot Spitzer said.

Ferry service to Fire Island, off the south shore of Long Island, was
halted, and New York City opened nine emergency storm shelters in
flood-prone locations. Spitzer sent 3,200 National Guard members to
potential flood areas.

Some residents of low-lying areas along the New Jersey shore packed up
to leave.

"This is going to be bad," Shaun Rheinheimer said as he moved furniture
to higher spots at his house on New Jersey's Cedar Bonnet Island.
Streets were flooded and waves splashed over bulkheads into backyards.

The storm also caused flash flooding in the mountains of southern West
Virginia, where emergency services personnel rescued nearly two dozen
people from homes and cars in Logan and Boone counties early Sunday. Two
people were unaccounted for.

"It's about as bad as it can get," said Logan, W.Va., Fire Chief Scott
Beckett. "This thing came down at 2 or 3 in the morning, when people
were sleeping in their beds. They just didn't know what was happening."

Some remained trapped in their homes because roads were blocked by high
water or mud, said Dean Meadows, Wyoming County emergency services director.

Up to 2.5 inches of rain had fallen in southern West Virginia since
early Saturday and streams were still rising Sunday, said weather
service meteorologist Dan Bartholf in Charleston.

At least 3 inches of rain fell in eastern Kentucky, where a 50-foot
section of highway collapsed near Pikeville, said State Police Sgt.
Jamey Kidd. No vehicles were caught by the collapse, he said.

Dozens of homes were destroyed or blown off their foundations in several
areas of South Carolina's Sumter County, but authorities didn't
immediately know if the cause was a tornado or straight-line wind, said
county emergency management director Robert Baker Jr. One person was
killed and four were seriously injured, he said.

In central Florida, a tornado damaged mobile homes in Dundee but no
injuries were reported, police said.

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Associated Press writers Wayne Parry in Manahawkin, N.J., Daniela Flores
in Trenton, N.J., and Tom Breen in Madison, W.Va., also contributed to
this report.

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On the Net:

Weather Underground: http://www.wunderground.com/

National Weather Service: http://iwin.nws.noaa.gov/

Intellicast: http://www.intellicast.com/