SMITHFIELD, N.Y. — Severe thunderstorms packing strong winds swept through a number of Eastern states, killing five people, destroying or damaging numerous houses and leaving nearly 200,000 without power today, officials said.

In central New York, four people died after the storms hit the rural town of Smithfield, between Syracuse and Utica, the Madison County Sheriff’s Office said. At least four homes were destroyed and numerous others were damaged. Nearly 56,000 utility customers in central and northern New York were still without power early today.

Injuries and damage from Tuesday’s fast-moving storms were not limited to New York state. In Maryland, a child at a summer camp was killed by a falling tree.

Three small tornadoes touched down in Ohio and at least one other was sighted in Pennsylvania, where more than 300,000 lost power at the peak of the storms.

Severe thunderstorms spawned at least one tornado in Mercer County just north of Butler.

Early today, more than 123,000 across Pennsylvania remained without power, including 66,000 in Philadelphia and its suburbs. The weather service said possible tornadoes were also reported in Perry, Bedford and Sullivan counties in central Pennsylvania.