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Deadly storms rip through eastern US Deadly storms rip through eastern US
(about 9 hours later)
A wave of thunderstorms with powerful winds in northern New York have killed at least four and left more than 70,000 people without electricity. A wave of thunderstorms with powerful winds in northern New York state have killed at least five and left hundreds of thousands without electricity.
Four residents of the rural town of Smithfield were found dead after several homes were destroyed by the fast-moving storms.Four residents of the rural town of Smithfield were found dead after several homes were destroyed by the fast-moving storms.
Madison County Sheriff Allen Riley told a local broadcaster investigators were searching for others in the rubble.Madison County Sheriff Allen Riley told a local broadcaster investigators were searching for others in the rubble.
A boy at summer camp in Maryland was also killed when a tree fell.A boy at summer camp in Maryland was also killed when a tree fell.
'Obliterated'
Six of his friends were injured in the same accident, which happened as they were moving to shelter.Six of his friends were injured in the same accident, which happened as they were moving to shelter.
US forecasters said winds from the storms in New York state were at least 60mph (97km/h). Those killed in Smithfield were later identified by the sheriffs' department as Kimberly Hilliard, 35; Paris Newman, four months; Virginia Warner, 70; and Arnie Allen, 53.
The National Weather Service said they were sending investigators to Smithfield to see if a tornado touched down. "The houses are obliterated," Town Supervisor Rich Bargabos told the Syracuse Post Standard. "There is not a piece of framework together."
Town Supervisor Rich Bargabos told the Syracuse Post Standard a mother and her four-month-old baby, a relative of the family and an unrelated neighbour had been killed.
"The houses are obliterated," Mr Bargabos said. "There is not a piece of framework together."
He added one of the house was "picked up and moved probably 500 feet across the road into another house".He added one of the house was "picked up and moved probably 500 feet across the road into another house".
Three small tornadoes touched down in Ohio, forecasters said, and another was spotted in Pennsylvania. Thousands were reported without power across New York on Wednesday as crews worked to restore services.
At the height of the outages on Tuesday, more than 300,000 homes and businesses were without electricity in the north-west area of the state. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said several central and northern counties experiences damages from the storms.
US forecasters said winds from the storms in the state topped 100mph (160km/h).
Three small tornadoes touched down in Ohio, while at least two were spotted in Pennsylvania, knocking out power for hundreds of thousands of people.
Thousand also reportedly lost power in New Jersey and near Washington DC as a result of the storms.