Powerful storm pounds Boston area

BOSTON, July 11 (UPI) -- Boston residents Sunday mopped up from a powerful midsummer storm that flooded roads, submerged cars and disrupted public transportation.

The storm dumped 2-3 inches of rain in the city and surrounding area within hours Saturday, forcing officials to close low-lying roads and bridges in Boston and Cambridge, Accuweather.com reported.

After a parched, hot two-week stretch, dry soil soaked up much of the water, or things could have been worse, the Boston Globe reported.

Thirteen Massachusetts state troopers were taken to a hospital to be decontaminated after raw sewage leaked into water when a dive team searched four submerged vehicles, none of them occupied.

No injuries were reported.

The storm disrupted Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority trains on the Red, Orange and Green lines as well as some commuter lines, officials said.

Even heavier rains hit elsewhere in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic, with Allentown, Pa., highest at more than 5.67 inches and some New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania towns getting about 3 inches.

Elsewhere, the Midwest braced Sunday for a second day of dangerous thunderstorms.

Accuweather.com said flash floods could occur as storms pound Omaha, Kansas City, St. Louis, Des Moines, Minneapolis and Chicago.