More than 100,000 people were forced to flee their homes as flash flooding linked to three deaths swamped areas of the US north-east. The National Weather Service (NWS) issued a flash flood warning for several counties in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Maryland and Virginia, as raging flood waters invaded towns, closed busy state highways and blocked commuter lines. The area has already been drenched by last week's Hurricane Irene. The torrential rains of recent days caused the flooding of the Susquehanna River, which flows through Wilkes-Barre's densely populated Wyoming Valley as well as communities in neighbouring New York state. Flooding was also reported in and around the US capital Washington.