(AP) — A nor’easter churned its way up the East Coast on Sunday, washing out roads and prompting air travel delays as heavily populated areas of the Northeast experienced excessive rain, lashing winds and coastal flooding. Across the continent in western Alaska, the remnants of Typhoon Halong brought hurricane- force winds and catastrophic flooding to coastal communities where entire houses were pushed off their foundations.

Rescue boats and aircraft were dispatched to the tiny Alaskan villages Kipnuk and Kwigillingok where there were reports of up to 20 people possibly unaccounted for, said Jeremy Zidek, spokesperson for the state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

“We have received reports that people’s homes have floated away and that people were potentially in those homes,” Zidek told The Associated Press.

Alaska governor says ‘help is

on the way’

More than 170 people stayed overnight at a community shelter in Kipnuk, where the water level rose overnight 6.6 feet (2 meters) above the highest tide. At least 8 homes were washed away, Zidek said.

Roads and boardwalks were inundated and power lines were damaged in Bethel, Napaskiak, Napakiak, and other Yukon-Kuskokwim communities.

“Every effort will be made to help those hit by this storm. Help is on the way,” Gov. Mike Dunleavy said in a statement.

The area is among one of the most isolated in the U.S., where some communities have few roads and residents use boardwalks, boats and snowmobiles to get around, Zidek said.

Water rescues along the East

Coast

Floodwaters could rise from the Carolinas north to New Jersey, forecasters warned.

“The greatest effects are going to be the coastal flooding potential,” said meteorologist Bob Oravec with the National Weather Service in College Park, Maryland.

Heavy rain also was forecast for southeast New England, the New York City area, and some has fallen in coastal sections farther down the coast, Oravec said.

In North Carolina’s Outer Banks, an area that’s seen significant storm damage this season, ocean overwash was came across Highway 12 at a motel near Buxton, the Dare County Sheriff’s Office posted online Sunday. The office urged travelers to be cautious and put property owners on alert as high tide approached.

The waves were ferocious at the Hatteras Island town of Buxton, where a number of beachfront homes have fallen into the water in recent weeks. One house was losing its pilings Sunday and appeared close to collapsing.

“The waves are crashing really hard into the houses and the dunes, and it’s all eroding,” said Robert Splawn, who was watching on the beach.

Flooding was widespread down the coast in Georgetown County, South Carolina, where several motorists had to be rescued when rising waters inundated their cars, Emergency Services Director Brandon Ellis told the Post and Courier on Sunday.

The weather service said parts of the county had received up to seven inches (18 centimeters) of rain.

Further south in Charleston, South Carolina, many streets downtown were closed because of flooding. Homeowner David Graubner spent the weekend pumping out his property, hoping to avoid a repeat of Friday, when the high tide brought nearly a foot (.3 meters) of water into his garage, where his new Corvette was parked.

“And I got all my toys in the garage and tools and stuff. So whatever helps. Even lowering the water by a few inches makes a difference,” Graubner told WCIV-TV.

There were several road closures in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, as heavy rain overwhelmed that city’s stormwater system.