Tropical Storm Lee Remnants Bring New Flood Worries to East Coast

The remnants of Tropical Storm Lee are bringing about new flood worries for East Coast residents who are still recovering from a the effects of Hurricane Irene.

Heavy rains have swelled waterways from Maryland to New England, and have flooded highways and stretched the resources of emergency responders who are already dealing with cleanup efforts from a recent blow from Irene.

The National Weather Service has forecasted that heavy rain would continue across the mid-Atlantic and Northeastern states through Thursday, dropping between 4 and 7 inches of rainfall. Up to 10 inches could fall in isolated pockets, according to NWS.

Flood watches and warnings issued throughout the region.

Flood warnings have been issued for Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and a flood watch is in effect for Eastern New York.

Lee has reportedly caused at least four deaths and has prompted officials to order the mandatory evacuation of about 3,000 people out of the northeastern city of Wilkes-Barre in Pennsylvania.

So far, New York has positioned rescue workers, swift-water boats and helicopters with hoists to respond quickly in the event of flash flooding, according to The Associated Press. Teams are standing by in Vermont, which bore the brunt of Irene's remnants last week, and hundreds of Pennsylvania residents were told to flee a rising creek.

Slow-moving Lee formed off the Louisiana coast late last week and gained strength while it stayed in the Gulf of Mexico for days. It dumped more than a foot of rain in New Orleans before moving onto Mississippi and Alabama.

Tornadoes that were spawned by Lee damaged hundreds of homes, and flooding knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of people.