More than 3 inches of rain an hour submerged parts of Virginia on Tuesday, sweeping away cars and killing a man caught in swirling currents. A 3-year-old girl was missing after being swept into a swollen stream.

A Coast Guard helicopter hoisted 10 families to safety along the Robinson River in the state’s central region, including two 11-year-old boys rescued from a tree.

“You can design for this or plan for it all you want, but you can’t harness the force of nature,” said Robert Johannis, who helped fish two men out of a flooded truck in the river.

Ground access to the village of Criglersville was cut off after water washed a 30-foot tree across the only road into town. Helicopters were used to rescue several people.