Herndon, Pa. ? The storm that was once Hurricane Ivan was long gone, but its aftereffects pounded parts of the East like a hangover Sunday, as rivers and small streams swollen beyond their banks by earlier torrential rain forced new evacuations in five states.

The Delaware River flooded parts of New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania, forcing thousands to flee, and the Ohio River inundated parts of towns in West Virginia and Ohio. Along the Susquehanna River, Pennsylvanians watched the swift-moving current drain past them with a mixture of dread and awe, and Maryland residents were warned a deluge was coming.

The Susquehanna was nearly 8 feet above flood stage Sunday morning at Bloomsburg, Pa., the National Weather Service said. It had crested in most places by afternoon but was expected to remain about flood stage through today.

In Harrisburg, the mayor’s office reported more than 2,000 residents subject to evacuation, and the deluge closed streets and unmoored pleasure boats from docks. In the Wilkes-Barre area, the Susquehanna caused extensive damage but was running so high that officials had difficulty making assessments.

Unrelenting weather

Hurricane Ivan and its remnants have been blamed for at least 52 deaths in the United States, 16 of them in Florida, and 70 deaths in the Caribbean. Hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses were still without electricity Sunday, most of them in Florida and Alabama.

Thousands of New Jersey and Pennsylvania residents fled their homes along the Delaware River on Sunday. Several bridges that cross the Delaware between the two states were blocked by high water, and emergency officials said the river was not expected to crest until evening.

Disaster areas

President Bush declared a disaster area Sunday for many counties in Pennsylvania, where state emergency management officials attributed six deaths to the storm. Three people drowned, including a 2-year-old girl, and one suffered a heart attack, but details of the other two deaths were not immediately available.

Residents Jeremy Adkins, left, and Gary Hardy make their way through a flooded neighborhood in Marietta, Ohio, as flood waters continued to rise Sunday. Hundreds of people evacuated their homes in parts of Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania as rivers and small streams were swollen beyond their banks by the rain dumped by remnants of Hurricane Ivan.

In Trenton, N.J., the Statehouse and several other nearby state offices and buildings were closed today because garages and surrounding roads had been flooded by the surging Delaware. Assembly and Senate meetings were canceled.

The Ohio River crested Sunday at Wheeling, W.Va., at about 9.3 feet above flood stage, after submerging the city’s riverfront park and amphitheater. It mostly covered the city’s midriver Wheeling Island, which holds residential neighborhoods and Wheeling Island Racetrack and Gaming.

West Virginia Gov. Bob Wise spent Saturday night with evacuees on the gym floor at Wheeling Park High, one of several Red Cross shelter sites, after a brief tour of the area by road.

“I saw mobile homes uprooted and tossed downstream,” he said Sunday. “I saw human lives uprooted.”

Bush tours Florida

President Bush visited the Pensacola area and Alabama on Sunday — his third such visit for Florida — and flew by helicopter over parts hit hardest when Ivan howled ashore Thursday with 130 mph wind. The hurricane spawned deadly tornadoes and a huge storm surge that gutted homes and businesses, washed out roads and bridges and knocked out power.

“Hang in there,” the president told residents as he walked along a street where Ivan obliterated dozens of homes.