April 16 (Bloomberg) -- The heaviest rainfall in 124 years pelted the New York area as a storm swept in from the Midwest, causing flooding in coastal areas and disruptions in air and commuter traffic. More than 100,000 people lost electricity.

New York area airports, including LaGuardia, John F. Kennedy International and Newark Liberty International, began recovering today after canceling 500 flights yesterday, said Pasquale DiFulco, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. ``Everything is moving,'' he said.

The system brought some of the worst flooding since Tropical Storm Floyd battered the region in September 1999, according to the National Weather Service. Flood warnings span much of northern New Jersey and the Lower Hudson Valley where rivers are near cresting. They're expected to drop below flood levels in the next 24 hours, the weather service said.

In New Jersey, acting Governor Richard Codey declared a state of emergency because of flooding and beach erosion. A spokesman for Codey said the storm knocked out power to 40,000 people and shut 54 highways and roads statewide.

U.S. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton's speech at the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University was postponed, according to the school's Web site. First lady Laura Bush canceled a trip to appear at The Big Read in Bridgeport, Connecticut, according to the Associated Press.

In the Carolinas, more than 60,000 customers of Progress Energy Inc. lost power, primarily in Buncombe and Wake counties in North Carolina.

Airline Advisories

LaGuardia had delays of more than two hours at 9 a.m.; Boston's Logan International Airport was almost two hours behind schedule; Newark Liberty had delays of as much as three hours; Washington Dulles International was running about an hour late and Philadelphia International had delays of 19 minutes, according to the FAA.

US Airways Group Inc., UAL Corp.'s United Airlines and Delta Air Lines Inc. said on their Web sites that weather delays are possible in the Northeast. JetBlue Airways Corp. canceled 70 flights today, 66 of them arrivals or departures from Kennedy, company spokeswoman Alison Eshelman said.

``We were able to cancel many of the flights in advance, which will allow us to resume normal operations no later than tomorrow,'' she said.

JetBlue stranded more than 130,000 passengers during a Feb. 14 storm. Hundreds were stuck aboard planes as long as 10 hours, and the cancellation of 1,102 flights, or 32 percent of JetBlue's schedule, covered six days.

Canadian Blackout

Consolidated Edison Inc. cut gas and electric service to 3,000 residential and business customers in the coastal communities of Westchester County, New York, where flooding threatens equipment in basements. Voluntary evacuations were issued for Mamaroneck and Bayville on Long Island.

As the storm moved north into Canada, more than 132,000 people lost power in Quebec, including 6,000 in Montreal, according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.

In New York City, commuter rails combined and canceled scheduled trips into Penn Station, where flooding closed one of two tunnels, transportation officials said.

``We anticipate delays of 35 to 45 minutes into Penn Station,'' said James Castle, a spokesman for the Long Island Rail Road that carries 280,000 customers daily. ``I think a lot of people will stay home.'' All trips to Hunters Point were canceled.

Rail Woes

Metro-North Railroad reported as much as a 30-minute delay for Harlem Line customers, while North White Plains station users were advised that 875 parking spaces were under water. New Jersey Transit suspended several lines and reported delays of as long as 20 minutes between New York and Newark.

Amtrak canceled service between Boston and Portland, Maine. Regional service between New Haven, Connecticut, and Springfield, Massachusetts, resumed after being suspended earlier, the company said. Alternative transportation was offered for the Adirondack between Albany and Montreal.

New York experienced the second wettest day on record as 7.57 inches of rain fell on Central Park yesterday, said Joe Pollina, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Upton, New York. The record of 8.28 inches was set Sept. 23, 1882.

An inch of rain may fall in the New York area where ``the storm is expected to linger through today and make headway late tonight,'' Pollina said. ``We'll have precipitation through Wednesday although it won't be as heavy as yesterday.''

Deadly Storm

The storm system killed at least five people as it rolled across the Great Plains late last week. One death was reported after a tornado struck a mobile home in South Carolina and high winds in the state resulted in another person's death. Two people died in traffic accidents in New York and Connecticut.

West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin III issued a state of emergency yesterday for the rain and river flooding that started April 14.

As many as 700 Lincoln County, West Virginia, residents downstream from Lee Johnson Fishing Lake were advised to leave their homes yesterday as an earthen dam threatened to break and unleash ``millions of gallons of water,'' said Allen Holder, director of emergency services.

Travelers yesterday experienced delays of as much as 8 1/2 hours. In New York, Mayor Michael Bloomberg advised people to use public transportation today rather than drive.

``Clearly the roads are very bad, and nightfall will only make things worse,'' Bloomberg said yesterday during a press conference. ``I can't encourage you enough to use mass transit.''

Residents in the New York area were warned the storm could be the worst nor'easter since December 1992. The storm 15 years ago killed at least four people in New England, prompted a 4- foot (1.2-meter) tidal surge, waves as high as 25 feet, wind gusts of 80 miles (129 kilometers) per hour and flood waters as deep as 5 feet in New York and Boston.

In Boston, rain fell today as 20,614 of 23,869 entrants participated in the 111th Boston Marathon, according to the Boston Athletic Association.

New York's mayor is founder and majority owner of Bloomberg News parent Bloomberg LP.

To contact the reporters on this story: Tom Randall in New York at trandall6@bloomberg.net; Adam Satariano in San Francisco at Asatariano1@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: April 16, 2007 19:25 EDT