Water service was restored Saturday for 119,000 people in Portsmouth, Virginia, and nearby Chesapeake and Suffolk, but residents were told to use the water only for flushing toilets. The area has been without drinkable running water since flooding damaged a pumping station on Thursday. As many as 1 million New Jersey residents were told to boil their water, at least through the weekend, because flooding overwhelmed a treatment plant. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, criticized for incompetence during the Reagan and Bush administrations, has been more recently hailed as a success story. But officials said the size of this storm has taxed the government's ability to get help to the victims.
Mobilization remains a big issue in a storm that affects the whole East Coast.
Amtrak on Saturday had restored full service along the Northeast corridor, which connects Boston, New York and Washington. Limited service was being offered south to Richmond and Newport News, Virginia. Some rivers have yet to crest More major flooding lies ahead for the Tar, Neuse and Cape Fear rivers in North Carolina, forecasters warned. Roadblock patrol threatened Some 10 to 15 people in North Carolina, frustrated with their inability to go home, reportedly tried to force their way through a manned barricade on Highway 53 near the town of Burgaw. One man brandished a handgun, demanded that four unarmed National Guard members allow them to pass, according to Pfc.