Storms Spawn Mid-Atlantic Flooding

A foot or more of rain fell in parts of the Northeast, forcing hundreds from their homes, rupturing small dams and slowing Amtrak trains to a walk. No injuries had been reported in the stricken areas of New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland, but at least one woman had a harrowing rescue. (Related map: Rainfall forecast) Tammy Spiese was trying to clear debris on her property near Reading, Pa., when rising water carried her into a drainage pipe. She had to be pulled out by her husband and a police officer. "I was in the water up to my neck," Spiese said. "It was very powerful and I had to hold onto the rocks above." South-central New Jersey was hardest hit with at least five small dams rupturing during the night, said Kevin Tuno, the Burlington County emergency management coordinator. Many of the dams in the area hold small reservoirs in low-lying residential areas.