
What causes flash floods and why are they so dangerous?
CBSN
An entire summer's worth of rain hit parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and New England over the course of just a few hours this week. Some of the flooding was so powerful it damaged roads, bridges and homes. One woman in New York was killed and heavy rains in the region continue to fuel dangerous floods.
Nationally, floods are the most common natural disaster and flash flooding is the most dangerous type. So far this year, flooding has killed 34 people in the U.S. — 24 of those people died while driving. Since 1980, flood damage in the U.S. has on average cost more than $4 billion every year.

There have been 27 major disaster declarations issued by President Trump so far in 2025. The disasters range in size and scope, from the L.A. wildfires to Midwest tornadoes and the Texas flooding as well as several winter storms. Many of them have resulted infatalities and billions of dollars in damage to property and businesses, but one major deadly weather event that occurred in June hasn't been declared: an extreme heat wave.