Northeast slogs through still more rain

SPRING LAKE, N.J. – Toilets backed up with sewage, military trucks plowed through headlight-high water to rescue people, and swans glided down the streets as rain fell for an eighth straight day around the waterlogged Northeast on Friday.

Overflowing lakes and streams forced hundreds of people from their homes in New Jersey and New Hampshire, and parts of New York and Connecticut also were under flood warnings.

Some spots have had more than a foot of rain since Oct. 7, and 2 to 3 more inches of rain were expected in some places by today.

Across the Northeast, at least 10 people have died because of the downpours since last weekend, and four others remain missing in New Hampshire.

Acting New Jersey Gov. Richard J. Codey declared a statewide state of emergency – the first step toward applying for federal aid – late Friday afternoon.

In the shore town of Spring Lake, giant military vehicles rolled in to help carry out hundreds of residents after an inlet flooded and a pumping station overflowed, sending sewage into the water.

Jack O’Connor, 84, was rescued from his apartment by rowboat. “All the years I’ve lived in Spring Lake, I’ve never been in a boat until now,” he said.

Not far away, 65 homes were evacuated because of lake flooding, and a dam at a state park failed, swamping the streets. About 100 nearby residents who evacuated overnight as the Shark River rose were being allowed to return by afternoon.

In Connecticut, the ground was so soft because of the steady rain that trees toppled, blocking the railroad tracks in Naugatuck. Commuters were forced to take shuttle buses.

Up to 3 inches of rain was expected in parts of southwestern New Hampshire. State workers passed out 46,000 sandbags and 550 well-testing kits.

Officials in Keene, N.H., one of the cities hardest hit by earlier flooding, issued a mandatory evacuation for 93 residents of a trailer home park along the Ashuelot River, and a voluntary evacuation for 1,200 other residents.

In Alstead, N.H., where at least 12 homes washed away last weekend, Gov. John Lynch set up a temporary office in the town fire department, passing out laminated cards with his cell phone number and direct lines to state agencies and public utilities.