SPARTANBURG, S.C. (AP) - Torrential flooding submerged cars, shut down roads, and led to at least one death Thursday as the rain-saturated East Coast braced not only for more precipitation but for a possible strike by a major hurricane.
Governors up and down the coast warned residents to prepare. The rains could cause power outages and close more roads. The approach of Hurricane Joaquin - a major Category 4 storm that slammed into the Bahamas and move toward the U.S. - could intensify the damage, but rain is forecast across the region regardless of the storm's path.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Thursday the state is already moving equipment, including generators and pumps, into position while state emergency officials watch the storm's progress. Upgrades and repairs made after Superstorm Sandy and Hurricane Irene have made New York and New York City better prepared for the next tropical storm, Cuomo said.
In Spartanburg, South Carolina, the heavy rains flooded and closed streets. Several cars were submerged in flash floods. One man was rescued Thursday morning after his vehicle was swept off the road where a culvert had washed out, Doug Bryson with Spartanburg County Emergency Management told local news outlets. The man managed to cling to a tree and was taken to a hospital for treatment, though there was no immediate word on his condition.
Spartanburg County Coroner Rusty Clevenger said 56-year-old Sylvia Arteaga of Spartanburg died Thursday morning. She was driving underneath an overpass when her car flooded "to capacity" inside.
Members of the Arteaga family who lived next door to the woman's home declined requests for comment Thursday. A neighbor, Martha Rodriguez, called Arteaga a good person who worked very hard to care for her two children. Rodriguez said Arteaga worked at a factory.
Meanwhile, Hurricane Joaquin battered the Bahamas, and forecasters said the storm is likely to strengthen as it makes its way toward the U.S.
But no matter which way Joaquin heads, an area of low pressure in the Southeast and a front stalled over the East Coast will pull moisture from the Atlantic Ocean, causing rain over the next few days, said Bruce Terry, lead forecaster for the government's Weather Prediction Center. The National Weather Service predicts as much as 10 inches for some areas.
"The bottom line is: We are expecting very heavy rains all the way from the Carolinas up into New England," he said.
The heaviest rain is expected in wide swaths of North Carolina and Virginia, along with parts of Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey, according to a National Weather Service forecast map.
The National Weather Service issued flash flood watches for Washington D.C., northern Virginia, southern Maryland and the Eastern Shore from this morning through late Saturday. Coastal flood warnings and advisories are in effect during the same period in central and southern Delaware and on the Eastern Shore.
Researchers at the University of Michigan and Texas A&M University predict as many as 14 million people could lose power depending on where the storm hits the U.S.
Seth Guikema and Steven Quiring said they accurately predicted the loss of power for millions during Sandy. They look at wind speed, storm path and population density.
"Joaquin could have power outage impacts on par with those of Sandy if it maintains a track towards major East Coast population centers, though there is substantial uncertainty about the track," said Guikema, a University of Michigan associate professor of industrial and operations engineering.