Ernesto’s death toll rises to 6 in Virginia

updated 10:53 p.m. ET Sept. 3, 2006

RICHMOND, Va. - A woman died of carbon monoxide poisoning from a portable generator, bringing Virginia’s death toll from the remnants of Tropical Storm Ernesto to six, officials said.

The woman hooked up the generator in her Newport News garage after losing electrical power during the storm, state Department of Emergency Management spokesman Marc LaFountain said. He said an open garage window did not provide adequate ventilation.

“This, sadly is something we often see after tropical storms,” LaFountain said. “These generators generate enormous amounts of carbon monoxide, and it’s important they be run outside.”

Three people died in unrelated car crashes attributed to the storm, and a Gloucester couple were killed after a massive tree crushed their modular home.

Another death was reported in North Carolina, and in Pennsylvania, a man drowned in a rain-swollen retention basin while trying to rescue his dog.

Nearly 99,000 customers remained without power Sunday in Virginia, New York and New Jersey.

In North Carolina, volunteer evacuations continued Sunday along the Northeast Cape Fear River in Duplin County, some two days after Ernesto dumped 8 to 12 inches of rain on eastern parts of the state.

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