Storms destroy Pennsylvania houses, cause power woes

Homes have been destroyed in Pennsylvania and hundreds of thousands of utility customers were left without power after severe thunderstorms struck the Eastern Seaboard.

Severe weather also affected parts of the South, and at least 420,000 customers from South Carolina up to Maine and in Ohio were without power just before midnight Thursday.

In Pennsylvania, Delaware County Emergency Management Director Tim Boyce told WPVI-TV on Friday that eight homes were destroyed and dozens were damaged.

More than 100,000 homes and businesses were without electricity in the Philadelphia suburbs early Friday. More outages occurred in western Pennsylvania, where storms caused flooding, mudslides and road closures.

More than 16,000 power outages were reported in New Hampshire.

Trees also toppled in New Jersey, which initially had more than 25,000 homes and businesses without power.

The weather also caused damage, outages and commuter delays across New York’s Long Island.

Trees were toppled on Thursday in the western Carolinas and Tennessee, where news outlets reported at least five people were injured when trees hit vehicles. Tornado watches during the day stretched from South Carolina to northern Pennsylvania.