At least 3 killed, 3 missing as fierce storm moves East

A deadly Halloween storm that caused flooding in central Texas is also blamed for a Kansas school bus crash and heavy winds across the South and Midwest and was moving East on Friday, causing flight delays and power outages.

Up to 13 inches fell on about a 100-mile section of central Texas around Austin, raising rivers and creeks, flooding roadways and, in the Onion Creek area of the state’s capital, prompting the evacuation of about 1,100 homes, according to emergency management officials. On Friday afternoon, more than 350 homes remained without power.

At least two people were killed in the Lone Star state: one in Caldwell County, another in Travis County, according to local police.

At least three more in Texas were missing. On Friday, Travis County Sheriff’s officials were searching for a 32-year-old woman and her 8-month-old son, according to local affiliate KVUE. Officials say the mother’s car was found empty in South Austin and believe both were swept away by a fast-moving creek. A third person was reported missing, Austin’s emergency management officials told The Times, but no details were available.

In Nashville, 9-year-old Christopher Ellison was electrocuted by a power line knocked down by high winds, according to the city’s police department.

Four people on a sailboat about 24 miles off the coast of Texas were rescued after the vessel was beset by rough waters and heavy winds, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. None of the four rescued were injured.

A school bus in Douglass, located in rural south-central Kansas, slid off the road and overturned in a creek on Thursday, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol. One of the 10 students on board, along with the driver, were sent to the hospital. A spokesman for the Highway Patrol told The Times that creek waters under the bridge swelled by 18 to 24 inches, covering part of the road , and the driver wasn’t able to see the water because of low tree branches.

Across the South and Midwest, the storm disrupted Halloween trick-or-treating, prompting cities to scrap planned outdoor events or postpone them until Friday.

On the East Coast on Friday, winds gust had reached 45 to 60 mph, ripping off tree limbs, blocking roadways and knocking down power lines.

Heavy winds and scattered thunderstorms caused delays at airports in Newark, New York and Philadelphia, rippling through the wider air travel network. In Philadelphia, heavy winds caused thousands of power outages and shut down public rail transportation to the airport, according to airport officials.

High wind warnings were in effect for most of upstate New York, while wind advisories were in place for the rest of the state, alone with New England and mid-Atlantic states.

New Jersey was expected to receive the bulk of the thunderstorms, but shortly before noon, the severe thunderstorm warning was lifted by the National Weather Service.

The band of storms extended southward through the Carolinas, Georgia and Tennessee, where wind gusts were expected to reach up to 60 mph.

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Twitter: @MattHjourno

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