TRENTON, N.J. (AP) – Thousands of people packed into shelters, hotels or friends’ houses on Tuesday, forced from their homes by flooding that caused millions of dollars in damage in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.

Nearly 6,000 New Jersey residents and another 5,715 in Pennsylvania evacuated their homes after the Delaware River surged out of its banks over the weekend, state officials said Tuesday. The flooding was blamed for at least one death.

Antonio Barnett, 27, stayed at a hotel after his Trenton apartment flooded but stopped to pick up a sandwich from The Salvation Army, which set up 50 shelters over the weekend to help flood victims.

“You can’t do what you’re accustomed to doing,” he said. “Financial help, that’s the main thing we really need.”

In New York, a woman’s body was found Monday about 500 yards from where her SUV flipped over into fast-moving water. Officials searched on Tuesday for two men missing from a van that was swept into a swollen creek.

New Jersey officials asked that the state be declared a federal disaster area, and officials in Pennsylvania and New York sought disaster declarations for affected counties.

“I’ve never seen devastation like this,” New York Gov. George Pataki said after flying over flooded areas.

“We’ll do everything we can to help.”

Some 3,200 homes were damaged in New Jersey, officials said, and hundreds more were damaged in Pennsylvania and New York, including at least 160 homes valued at some $16 million in the Town of Deerpark, N.Y. Many bridges and roads in Pennsylvania were impassable and dozens of schools and businesses were closed.

Many state employees in New Jersey remained off the job in Trenton, where the Delaware River flooded roads and the Statehouse garage.

New Jersey’s acting Gov. Richard J. Codey estimated that property damage approached $30 million, about the same amount caused by remnants of Hurricane Ivan that swept through the state in September.

In Monroe County, Pa., businesses had already reported $40 million worth of damage as of Tuesday afternoon, “and that’s conservative,” said Harry Robidoux, director of emergency services. At least 300 homes countywide were flooded, he said.

Dot Varju watched as workers carted off her inventory of ruined beer from Frank & Dot Depot in Easton, Pa. For health reasons, even cases of beer that weren’t touched by floodwater had to be tossed out.

“I want to cry,” Varju said. Her husband, Frank Varju, estimated the damage at more than $100,000.

Despite the flooding, the National Weather Service estimated New Jersey received a total of only 2 to 4 inches of rain over the weekend. But water levels had already been high from previous storms, and melting snow upstream in New York state contributed heavily to the flooding.

While the Delaware River receded below its banks Tuesday, the Susquehanna, Chenango and Tioughnioga rivers weren’t expected to follow for a day or two, and more rain was expected later in the week, the National Weather Service said.

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