LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Yet another wave of severe storms pummeled a wide swath of the United States and Canada, causing flash floods that required rescues Wednesday in Arkansas, dropping a tornado that blew a B-52 bomber off its base in New York, and stranding drivers in high water around Toronto.
The relentless series of storms has caused deaths or damage from the Plains to New England this week. Hundreds of thousands of people have lost power and air conditioning during days of sweltering heat.
As much as 11 inches of rain fell overnight into Wednesday on parts of Marion County, Arkansas, in the Ozark Mountains, the National Weather Service said.
At least 80 people had to evacuate a nursing home in Yellville, the county seat, and were taken to a community center, said Lacey Kanipe, a spokesperson for Arkansas emergency management. A section of a bridge washed out, and a historic courthouse flooded.
As many as 40 residents had to evacuate their homes in the Marion County city of Flippin, Kanipe said, and there was also a swift-water rescue involving a recreational vehicle in neighboring Baxter County.
There have been “impacts to infrastructure” in the area, said Kanipe, who didn’t have details. There were no immediate reports of injuries from the flooding.
Cities across upstate New York declared states of emergency after a storm swept through Tuesday with high winds and spectacular lightning. A confirmed tornado in the city of Rome tipped over vehicles and left streets clogged with tree debris, power poles and electrical transformers.
The winds were fierce enough to knock a tourist attraction, a B-52 bomber, off its pedestal at Griffiss Business and Technology Park. Steeples crumbled and roofs were torn apart at First Presbyterian Church and St. Mary’s Church, both built in the 1800s. St. Mary’s is not an active church and is privately owned.
“These are beautiful old churches. It breaks my heart,” Rome resident Barb Mulvey said on Facebook.
A Rome landmark, a mural of a Revolutionary War figure on horseback, was destroyed, along with the building on which it was painted. All that remained was an image of a horse hoof.
Storm debris hit and killed an 82-year-old man who was outdoors in Canastota in central New York, village administrator Jeremy Ryan said.
Trees fell on houses and cars Tuesday in Keene, New Hampshire, forcing some residents to evacuate. Around Toronto, flooding temporarily closed several major roads and left drivers stranded, the Canadian Press reported.
About 200,000 homes and businesses lacked power Wednesday in northeastern U.S. states, according to PowerOutage.us. The East Coast from Maine to the Carolinas was warned of weather that could feel hotter than 100 degrees (37.8 Celsius) in some places.
A storm helped bring under control a forest fire burning at a military bombing range in New Jersey as it dropped half an inch of rain, the state forest fire service said.
This week’s severe weather struck the Chicago area especially hard. The weather service said it confirmed 17 tornadoes hit northern Illinois and northwestern Indiana, including 11 during a single stretch of extraordinary storms Monday night.
