Days of rainfall from what had been Tropical Storm Lee inundated a wide portion of Pennsylvania and other northeastern states Thursday, forcing tens of thousands of people to seek higher ground.

President Barack Obama declared states of emergency in Pennsylvania and New York early Friday, clearing the way for federal aid.

The damage was concentrated along the Susquehanna River in Wilkes-Barre and other communities along the river.

The National Weather Service said the Susquehanna crested above 38 feet (12 meters) Thursday night _ below the top of the levee system protecting residents in northeastern Pennsylvania.

Lee's impact was felt widely in already waterlogged Pennsylvania, as authorities closed countless roadways, including some heavily traveled interstates, and evacuation shelters were opened to serve the many displaced people.

Similar scenarios played out in Maryland and New York, but the fading storm's wrath was also felt from Connecticut to Virginia.

The mayor of Binghamton, New York, said severe Susquehanna River flooding was the worst in more than 60 years. Twenty thousand people were ordered to head for higher ground, and only emergency officials were allowed in the city.

At least 11 deaths have been blamed on Lee: four in central Pennsylvania, two in northern Virginia and one in Maryland, along with four others killed when it came ashore on the Gulf Coast last week.

In the Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C., two people, including a child, died when they were swept away in rain-swollen waters Thursday night, fire officials said.

The flooding was fed by drenching rains from Tropical Storm Lee that continued for days, and followed a little more than a week the dousing that Hurricane Irene gave the East Coast.