Stormy Northeast Weather Kills 10

The deluge of rain that caused flooding in the U.S. capital and elsewhere in the East forced the evacuation of more than 2,200 people near a rising lake on Wednesday and washed out part of a four-lane highway. At least ten deaths were blamed on the stormy weather and three people were missing.

After days of heavy rain and floods, the sun was shining in Washington, D.C. as the storm moved into New York and New England. Rivers were still rising in Virginia after four days of downpours and highways across the region were blocked by flooding and washouts.

Washington, D.C., Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and Pennsylvania have been soaked by about 10 inches of rain since the weekend and although more wet weather is expected, National Weather Service meteorologist Mike Eckert says the heaviest rain has moved up to New York and New England where it's forecast to end Wednesday afternoon.

Virtually the entire state of Pennsylvania was under a flood watch or warning. A dozen helicopters from the Pennsylvania National Guard, the state police and the U.S. Coast Guard plucked stranded residents from rooftops in Bloomsburg, Sayre and New Milford, and hundreds of National Guard personnel were preparing to distribute ice, water, and meals ready to eat.

Three people died in western Maryland when they were washed out of the bed of a pickup truck shortly after they were rescued from a car that stalled in high water late Tuesday, authorities said. Another motorist died in a weather-related traffic accident as well, police said.

CBS News correspondent Susan Roberts reports flooding in the nation's capital has closed has closed headquarters of the Internal Revenue Service, the Museum of Natural History and the National Archives.

All Smithsonian museums are closed as well, CBS News correspondent Joie Chen adds.

None of the flooded buildings had structural damage, but water in the basements damaged air-conditioning, electric wires and others building systems, said Mike McGill, a spokesman for the General Services Administration, which manages federal buildings.

"We're still in the process of evaluating the damage to those systems," he said.

Sandbags were set up to prevent more water from getting inside.

Officials at the Justice Department, which handles day-to-day operations it its headquarters, said it could take a week to clean up the mess there and reopen the building.

Easier to clean up, but perhaps more dramatic: word that the elm tree which fell over at the White House due to the storms is part of our history - and was the model for the drawing on the back of the $20 bill.

States of emergency are in effect in both Washington, D.C., and in Sussex County, Delaware, CBS News reports, where floods have washed away roadbeds, destroyed farm crops, damaged homes and businesses and left about 40 temporarily homeless.

In Montgomery County, Maryland, more than 2,200 people were evacuated early Wednesday from their homes near a lake, after being warned that a section of the earthen dam on Lake Needwood, a recreational lake built along Rock Creek, is in danger of failing under the weight of rising waters from the rain-swollen creek. The evacuation was completed by early Wednesday morning.

"For the most part, late last night the concern definitely grew in regards to leakage around the dam, obviously being 25 feet above the normal levels concerned us to the point that our plans initiated to evacuate the residents around the Rock Creek area," Captain Oscar Garcia from Wheatland, Maryland told CBS News' The Early Show.

Garcia said if the dam failed, more than 100 homes near Rock Creek Regional Park, east of Rockville, would be in danger from flooding.

The downpour forced officials to abandon efforts at 11:15 p.m. Tuesday to find two youths, ages 14 and 15, who were reported missing by their parents after they failed to return home after saying they were going to Little Pipe Creek near Route 194 in Keymar, Maryland.

The father of one of the teenagers called 911 at 7:20 p.m. after they failed to return home.

One bicycle and clothing were found near the creek in the shelter in Baltimore County late Tuesday.

About 10,000 people are without power as of early Wednesday, according to Baltimore Gas and Electric, and about 40 people and four dogs are staying at the county shelter in Maryland City.

In Delaware, where floods have pushed about 40 people out of their homes, another round of flooding is expected Wednesday night. Forecasters predict another three to five inches of rain and possible gale-force winds from a front expected to arrive in southern Delaware around 8 p.m. and move slowly north.

In Pennsylvania, flash flood warnings are in effect for 46 of the state's 67 counties - from Westmoreland in southwestern Pennsylvania to Wayne in northeastern Pennsylvania.

An elderly man was killed after his car was washed away near Equinunk, Wayne County, on the New Jersey border, according to fire officials who said the man had driven on a road closed due to flooding. A 15-year-old boy also drowned in a lake in Pennsylvania's Luzerne County and his mother's boyfriend drowned trying to rescue him, police said.

"By the time we got up there, it was just too late," Vernon Smith of the Equinunk fire department told WNEP-TV.

"We're seeing flooding all over the eastern and central portions of the state," said Justin Fleming, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency.

With three or four more inches of rain expected over the next 24 to 48 hours, Fleming said early Wednesday, "We're expecting flooding potentially Wednesday or Thursday on major rivers, the Schuylkill, the Delaware and possibly the Susquehanna."

An elderly man was killed in Pennsylvania in a single-car accident on a road that had been closed because of flooding, authorities said. The weather service predicted flooding of "major severity" from the Schuylkill River in Berks County, Pa., by Wednesday afternoon and Gov. Ed Rendell warned that record crests along the Susquehanna River could cause major flooding Wednesday and Thursday. The rising Schuylkill flooded some low-lying streets in Philadelphia early Wednesday.

In Reading, Pa., officials expect the river to rise to 24 feet - 11 feet above flood stage - and are in the process of opening a shelter at an elementary school.

"The last time we had significant flooding was June 2004, and it was 16 feet, so we're looking at significantly more flooding that we've experienced in the past," said Jeffrey Widner, deputy coordinator with Berks County Emergency Management.

In Scranton, the American Red Cross set up an evacuation center at Green Ridge Assembly Of God church. Floodwaters lapped the aisles of a small grocery store in Jim Thorpe, and the Lackawanna River swamped an auto body shop in Old Forge and swept away an old camper.

"This is the worst I've ever seen it," said Fire Lt. Tom Derrick in the borough of Waymart, where an overflowing creek covered one of the town's main streets.

In Great Bend, Pa., the main street is reported to be underwater because of a dam break.

The governor said forecasters expect the Susquehanna to crest at a record 28 feet (17 feet above flood stage) at Sayre, Bradford County, and Waverly, N.Y., on Wednesday; at 36 feet (17 feet above flood stage) at Bloomsburg, Columbia County, on Thursday; and at 25 feet (eight feet above flood stage) at Harrisburg on Thursday evening.

New York state police reported that two bridges on an interstate highway "are down" about 35 miles northeast of Binghamton, and state emergency officials said two people were dead.

"The report we have is a road washout," said Dennis Michalski of the State Emergency Management Office. He said he had no further details.

Ten New York counties declared states of emergency, and Michalski said Gov. George Pataki activated the National Guard for evacuation support and engineering. Hundreds of people were evacuated from homes in the Binghamton area because of flooding on rivers.