A house that sat along the Hereford Inlet side of Grassy Sound in Middle Township, New Jersey, was washed into the back bay waters during the overnight high tide and heavy winds Saturday.

While spared the full fury of Hurricane Joaquin, parts of the East Coast saw record-setting rain Saturday that shut down roads, waterlogged crops and showed little sign of letting up.

Much of the drenching was centered in the Carolinas, but coastal communities as far away as New Jersey were feeling the effects of unrelenting rainfall. Rain and flood warnings remained in effect for many parts of the East Coast through Sunday. At least five weather-related deaths have been reported.

President Barack Obama declared a state of emergency in South Carolina and ordered federal aid to help state and local efforts.

Three people died in three separate weather-related traffic incidents in South Carolina since the heavy rains began, the state’s highway patrol said, including two motorists who lost control of their cars and a pedestrian hit by a car.

Once the rain ends, the flood threat persists because the ground is too saturated to absorb water, meteorologists say. And high winds could topple trees like the one that hit a vehicle near Fayetteville, North Carolina, killing a passenger. The storm also has been linked to a drowning in Spartanburg, South Carolina.