8 killed in violent storms across South, East Coast

WASHINGTON — Crews worked on Thursday to clear devastation from a storm system that lashed the United States from the Gulf Coast east to Maine, killing at least eight people and injuring scores, officials said.

National Guard crews used chainsaws and heavy equipment to clear downed trees and open roads across Virginia after Wednesday's storms, a spokesman for the state's emergency management agency said.

The National Weather Service said there had been 19 reports of tornadoes in Virginia, North Carolina and Florida on Wednesday. The storm system pounded the Carolinas and Virginia with high winds, hail and heavy rain, and flood warnings were in place from Maryland to Maine.

Four people were killed in Virginia, including two men and a 2-year-old boy who died in Waverly when their mobile home was demolished. A 58-year-old South Carolina man died on Wednesday when he was struck by a falling tree.

Several tornadoes also pummeled Louisiana and Mississippi on Tuesday, killing at least three people and injuring dozens.

The Virginia emergency management spokesman said at least 40 people in the state had been injured by the storm. Up to 64 homes or businesses had been destroyed and about 180 had been damaged, he said.

Gov. Terry McAuliffe was touring stricken areas after declaring a state of emergency to hasten delivery of disaster relief.

The National Weather Service said the storm system would continue to push northward into Canada on Thursday. Snow and gusty winds were forecast across part of the Appalachian Mountains, the Great Lakes and New England, it said.

High seas strand fishing boat, capsize Coast Guard boat

High seas stranded a commercial fishing vessel off New York's Rockaway Beach and capsized a U.S. Coast Guard boat that rushed to help on Thursday but no one was injured.

Rough seas and dense fog stranded the 76-foot commercial fishing vessel about 13 miles southeast of downtown Manhattan.

All seven crew members of the Carolina Queen 3 were rescued in baskets dangling from two helicopters, assisted by a rescue swimmer in the water, said U.S. Coast Guard Operations Specialist First Class Morgan Gallapis.

The crew of the scallop fishing boat from New York called for help at 2 a.m. local time, when it got stuck in shallow waters amid six-foot seas and heavy fog at the entrance to East Rockaway Inlet, in the Queens Borough of New York.

"They ran aground and their vessel started to take on water, they feared it would capsize," Gallapis said.

A Coast Guard fleet rushed to assist, including a 25-foot vessel which capsized in the rough seas, forcing four crew members to swim about 200 yards back to Jones Beach, where they are stationed on New York's Long Island. The rescue boat was about a quarter of a mile from the fishing vessel when it capsized.