Authorities are searching for two young children after flash floods in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, killed their mother and at least four other people Saturday.
A barrage of rain Saturday afternoon flooded the village of Washington Crossing in Upper Makefield Township, where 11 vehicles were nearly enveloped by floodwater, Upper Makefield Fire Chief Tim Brewer said Sunday.
As much as 7 inches of rain hit the area, alongside the Delaware River, in less than an hour, he said.
Ten people were rescued from or near vehicles abandoned close to an adjacent creek along Washington County Road, Brewer said at a news conference Sunday.
The storm’s death toll rose to five, with the latest confirmed victim described as a mother from Charleston, South Carolina, visiting Pennsylvania, Brewer said.
She was in a vehicle with her 4-year-old son, 2-year-old daughter and 9-month-old son, a man described as their father and a woman described as their grandmother as it was stranded in rising water, he said.
The father grabbed the 4-year-old son and reached safety, Brewer said. The mother and the grandmother grabbed the 9-month-old and the 2-year-old, but all were swept away.
The grandmother survived and was hospitalized, Upper Makefield Township police said in a statement. Her condition was unavailable.
The mother’s body was recovered Sunday, Brewer said. The search for the youngsters continues.
“Tragically, we are looking for two children from the same family,” Brewer said.
Brewer said earlier Sunday that search and rescue crews were looking for the two people along the creek’s steep banks, which can be difficult to tread.
The fate of the children remained unknown, but Brewer said he was “fairly certain” the mission of first responders has shifted from search and rescue to recovery.
“In my 44 years, I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said.
The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency said Sunday that more flooding was possible overnight.
Gov. Josh Shapiro visited first responders in the affected region Sunday and tweeted later, “We will continue to do all we can to support the good people of Bucks County.”
Elizabeth Maline contributed.
