(Reuters) -Two tornadoes touched down in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, on Thursday, collapsing the roof of a car dealership and injuring several people, a county spokesman said.
One of the twisters hit in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, after 5 p.m. EDT, said Jim O'Malley, deputy director of public information for Bucks County. The car dealership building was struck there.
A second tornado is believed to have touched down in Solebury, Pennsylvania, at around the same time, O'Malley said. Bucks County is northeast of Philadelphia, on the New Jersey state line.
O'Malley said authorities were responding to several reports of injuries but could not give a total number of casualties.
The Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper reported that more than 8,000 homes and businesses were left without power by the storm.
Between 1 and 3 inches (2.5 and 5 cm) of rain had fallen across the region during a short time on Thursday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service (NWS), which issued flash flood warnings parts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
The weather service in a bulletin urged motorists to stay off the roads until the heavy weather had passed.
"Turn around ... don't drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood deaths occur in vehicles," the NWS said.