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At least 50 people have died in the devastation wreaked by Superstorm Sandy – including two children killed instantly by a falling tree.
The children – named locally as Jack Baumler, 11, and Michael Robson, 13 – were crushed by the toppled tree as they played inside their home in Westchester County, New York state, at 6:45 p.m. on Monday.
Other fatalities include a woman who was electrocuted to death by falling wires on Manhattan’s 134th Street and a 29-year-old man who was killed in a car crash in Queens.
A man was crushed by a falling tree in Ulster County, New York State, and one death has been reported in Connecticut and two people were killed when their pick-up was crushed by a falling tree in New Jersey.
At least 50 people have died in the devastation wreaked by Superstorm Sandy, including two children killed instantly by a falling tree
Police in Toronto said a woman was killed by a falling sign as high winds closed in on Canada’s largest city.
A 30-year-old man was killed when a tree fell on his house on 166th Street in Flushing, New York City.
Meanwhile a 62-year-old man was killed as he let his dog out on his porch in Oley, Pennsylvania.
An 8-year-old boy died when he was crushed by a falling tree in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania.
And a jogger was reportedly hospitalized after being crushed by a falling tree in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park.
The devastating aftermath of Hurricane Sandy was beginning to emerge as the death toll hit 50 and damage was expected to reach $50 billion.
As Frankestorm passed over the region, startling before-and-after pictures revealed what was left of the East Coast.
At first glance, New Jersey’s Mantoloking Bridge appeared to be completely different highways – until it becomes clear that just one solitary house was left standing.
Row after row of Atlantic vacation homes on the horizon were wiped out by the 900-mile storm following surging waters and winds which reached peaks of 95 mph.
The colossal scale of the devastation was mounting today as the death toll continued to rise – 50 people were dead in the wake of the storm but that number was expected to grow as rescue missions and clear-up continued.
The cost was originally estimated at around $20 billion but financial forecasters now expected it somewhere between $30 and $50 billion of damage.
Sandy will likely be among the ten costliest hurricanes in U.S. history. It would still be far below the worst – Hurricane Katrina, which cost $108 billion in 2005.
Insured losses were expected to reach up to $15 billion, according to NBC, before the additional toll of the damage done to uninsured buildings and infrastructure such as roads, bridges and transport systems.
However, experts said a slightly slower economy in the coming weeks will likely be matched by reconstruction and repairs that will contribute to growth over time.
Some of those losses won’t be easily made up. Restaurants that lose two or three days of business, for example, won’t necessarily experience a rebound later. And money spent to repair a home may lead to less spending elsewhere.
The storm cut power to more than eight million homes and shut down 70% of East Coast oil refineries. It inflicted worse-than-expected damage in the New York metro area – which produces about 10% of economic output in the U.S.
President Barack Obama, who will visit New Jersey tomorrow, declared the storm as a “major disaster” as submerged streets were littered with debris and downed power lines, homes were razed and a tanker had washed ashore.
Mantoloking Bridge leads to the Jersey Shore village of Brick Township, home to more than 76,100 people. Dozens of people have been rescued from roofs of properties where areas were flooded with at least 6 ft of seawater.
The devastating aftermath of Hurricane Sandy was beginning to emerge as the death toll hit 50 and damage was expected to reach $50 billion
Barack Obama will join New Jersey Governor Chris Christie on Wednesday for a helicopter tour of the ravaged state.
At press conference on Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. EST Governor Chris Christie said: “It was an overwhelming afternoon for me – very emotional for a boy who was brought up in this state.”
He pledged to rebuild the Jersey Shore but said that a lot of it had been washed into the sea. Chris Christie confirmed that six had died in the state and told residents of the Garden State to “hang in”. He added that he didn’t want to guess the cost of the damage but believed it would run into billions.
New Jersey’s barrier islands were hit directly as Hurricane Sandy made landfall on Monday night and were left with colossal damage due to their exposed location on the open ocean.
The gambling mecca of Atlantic City was battered by the storm with the historic boardwalk left in splinters after it was smashed by waves and torn up by the wind. The city’s mayor Lorenzo Langford was denounced by Governor Chris Christie after he advised people not to evacuate and 500 had remained in flimsy shelters, only a block from the beach.
Chris Christie said on Monday that the decision was “stupid and selfish” because the precarious location of Atlantic City would place rescue workers in danger.
He said: “I feel badly for the folks in Atlantic City who listened to him and sheltered in Atlantic City, and I guess my anger has turned to sympathy for those folks, and we’re in the midst now of trying to go in and save them.”
The Jersey Shore appeared completely flattened in the before-and-after shots. And in Hoboken, an entire fleet of New York city’s iconic yellow cabs were almost entirely submerged by flood waters.
Around 120 miles to the south-west, New York City had its own pictorial record of the devastation.
A ferocious fire in Breezy Point, Queens, destroyed 111 homes. The New York Fire Department battled to save houses in a neighborhood that is home to hundreds of their fellow firefighters, plunging into neck-deep water and fighting winds to reach the raging inferno.
In Dumbo, Brooklyn, the painstakingly restored Jane’s Carousel, which is a popular tourist attraction in the area, was badly damaged by flood waters and cut off on its own little island in Brooklyn Bridge Park.
Sandy, one of the biggest storms ever to hit the United States, roared ashore with fierce winds and heavy rain on Monday at 8:00 p.m. EST and forced evacuations, shut down transport and interrupted the presidential campaign.
New York City was all but closed off by car, train and air. The superstorm overflowed the city’s waterfront, flooded the financial district, subway tunnels and cut power to hundreds of thousands. Power is expected to be fully restored in Manhattan and Brooklyn within four days.
The New York Stock Exchange will reopen for regular trading on Wednesday after being shut down for two days.
Most homeowners who suffered losses from flooding won’t be able to benefit from their insurance policies.
Standard homeowner policies don’t cover flood damage, and few homeowners have flood insurance.
But Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac said they will offer help to borrowers whose homes were damaged or destroyed, who live in designated disaster areas and whose loans the mortgage giants own or guarantee.
Among other steps, mortgage servicers will be allowed to reduce the monthly payments of affected homeowners or require no payments from them temporarily.
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It seems not everyone in Hurricane Sandy’s path has been paying attention to the storm warnings.
A significant number of foolhardy north-easterners are apparently refusing to follow orders – and instead are doing their best to get as close as possible to the hurricane’s effects.
Whether they are hanging out on piers which are threatened with destruction, or taking photographs of towering waves, these brave souls show little regard for their personal safety.
More worryingly, some seem to be putting their children in harm’s way too, with several images of youngsters playing on the very beaches which are expected to bear the brunt of the attacks.
And the pictures also bear witness to the willingness of some to ignore evacuation orders, with natives of New York’s City Island staying put even as the storm surge reaches as far as their homes.
Hurricane Sandy has impacted the East Coast with surging waves, torrential rain and winds of up to 90 mph – leaving 1.5 million people without power.
As Hurricane Sandy slams into New Jersey, where the water has already reached five feet high, hundreds of thousands of people across Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island and Virginia are without power.
A significant number of foolhardy north-easterners are apparently refusing to follow orders ahead of Hurricane Sandy
Utilities company ConEd had called customers to warn it will shut off power lines across Manhattan and Brooklyn, meaning millions more will be affected. The company shut off power in 200,000 homes in the area in last year’s Hurricane Irene – but this year’s storm packs a much fiercer punch.
Sandy, which forecasters said could be the largest hurricane in U.S. history, has revealed the first signs of her monstrous power, dumping snow, breaching rivers and forcing floodwaters into towns.
During a press conference at lunchtime on Monday, Barack Obama said: “Do not delay. Don’t pause. Don’t question the instructions that are being given, because this is a serious storm and it could potentially have fatal consequences.”
New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg was even more forceful, saying: “If you don’t evacuate, you are not only endangering your life, you are also endangering the lives of the first responders who are going in to rescue you.”
He was particularly insistent that thrill-seekers should not risk their lives by trying to take advantage of the record waves.
Despite the warning, one man was pictured surfing just off Coney Island in Brooklyn.
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Halloween celebrations could be cancelled in New Jersey in the wake of Hurricane Sandy as it was deemed unsafe to go trick or treating.
Governor Chris Christie announced on his Twitter account on Monday night that if the ferocious winds and high waters continued, he would declare it unsafe for residents to take part in celebrations.
Chris Christie said: “If conditions are not safe on Wednesday for Trick or Treating, I will sign an Executive Order rescheduling.”
New Jersey was battered by Storm Sandy as it made landfall in the south of the state with winds of up to 85 mph.
More than 750,000 were left without power in New Jersey with authorities warning residents to stay off wind-swept and flooded roads. Atlantic City’s historic boardwalk had suffered significant damage.
Halloween celebrations could be cancelled in New Jersey in the wake of Hurricane Sandy as it was deemed unsafe to go trick or treating
Public transport, airports and schools remained closed today while rescue workers and power companies waited to assess the extent of the damage as it neared daylight on the East Coast.
Governor Chris Christie had held a press conference at 5:30 p.m. on Monday shortly before Sandy smashed into the coastline. In typically blunt style he said: “For those of you who… decided it was a better idea to wait this out than to evacuate, and for those elected officials who decided to ignore my admonition, this is now your responsibility.”
Chris Christie said Atlantic City Mayor Lorenzo Langford erred by allowing people to shelter on the barrier island rather than moving them inland.
He warned those who had not evacuated to take shelter and ride out the storm as rescue operations had been suspended until daylight Tuesday.
The governor had said earlier in the day that those who did not heed evacuation orders were putting themselves and rescue workers in harm’s way, calling them “stupid and selfish”.
Hurricane Sandy was thought to have caused $20 billion of damage and left 17 dead up to now.
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Here is a selection of links to help you keep updated on the progress of Hurricane Sandy and find other useful information.
United States
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) dedicated Hurricane Sandy page contains links to the latest advisories, satellite images and weather reports.
The NOAA’s National Weather Service page has the latest US weather reports.
The NOAA’s National Hurricane Centre has the latest US hurricane advisories.
Twitter updates are available from the National Hurricane Centre (@NHC_Atlantic) and NOAA (@NOAA).
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has advice on hurricane preparation and evacuation plans.
Fema’s Twitter feed (@Fema) and Facebook page also provide updates.
The American Red Cross has a search tool and map to help you find your nearest emergency storm shelter, or text SHELTER and a Zip Code to 43362 (standard rates apply).
The latest information on sea levels and high tides is available from the NOAA’s National Ocean Service.
Google’s interactive crisis map of the hurricane shows the predicted path of the storm, the affected areas and links to local weather reports and warnings.
Watch a live stream from the top of the Statue of Liberty in New York harbour as the storm approaches.
This live map shows the winds currently flowing over the United States.
Canada
The Canadian Hurricane Centre has the latest updates on how the storm is expected to affect Eastern Canada including a clickable map of local weather warnings.
State-by-state
New York: The NY-Alert web portal has some of the latest information and alerts from state authorities, or follow @NYSDHSES for updates. New York residents can call the Hurricane Sandy helpline on 1-888-769-7243 or 1-518-485-1159 for updates and shelter advice or visit Google’s New York City crisis map.
New Jersey: Visit the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management for forecasts and travel information, or see the Twitter feed (@NJOEM2010) and Facebook page.
Maryland: Maryland’s Emergency Management Agency website has details of the state’s evacuation plan, and are tweeting at @MDMEMA.
Massachusetts: Massachusetts state authorities have information on storm preparations, while the latest weather reports and forecast can be found by searching #MASandy on Twitter.
Pennsylvania: Visit Pennsylvania’s Emergency Management Agency website here.
Connecticut: Visit the Connecticut governor’s website for information or call 211 for storm shelter information in the state.
Delaware: Visit the Delaware Emergency Management Agency website for more information, or residents can call the Delaware Hurricane Sandy Hotline on (800) 464-4357.
Washington DC: The District of Columbia website has information on relief centres as well as public building and transport closures.
Meteorologists have called Frankestorm a “once-in-a-lifetime” storm but as East Coast residents stockpile imperishables and fill their bathtubs with water in preparation for the looming tempest, many are left scratching their heads over what makes this particular weather system so epic.
The Frankenstorm, as it has been dubbed given its proximity to Halloween, is the mash-up of Hurricane Sandy from the South and an unnamed nor’easter gaining strength as it moves from the West.
And when Hurricane Sandy and the wintery blast finally meet, East Coasters could be on the receiving end of one of the coldest, wettest and most dangerous assaults from nature.
Hurricane Sandy is arriving on the tail end of the hurricane season, with September typically the most active period.
The storm threatening to wreak havoc on the Atlantic coast began to form on October 19 in the Caribbean Sea and in October 22 forecasters labeled it a Tropical Storm and named it Sandy.
It made landfall on October 24 near Kingston, Jamaica with 80 mph winds and it moved toward Cuba the same day, sustaining winds of 110 mph and claiming an estimated 51 lives.
Its strength has waned and then re-intensified as it moved toward the Atlantic Coast of the U.S., with meteorologists saying a high pressure ridge of air centered around Greenland is steering it toward land, as it is expected to make landfall off the New Jersey coast on Monday.
The Frankenstorm is the mash-up of Hurricane Sandy from the South and an unnamed nor’easter gaining strength as it moves from the West
Hurricane Sandy is responsible for an estimated 67 deaths so far in the Bahamas, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica and Puerto Rico.
Meanwhile, the wintery storm from the West is helping to pull the hurricane to land when it might have otherwise fled back into the Atlantic.
The nor’easter is a winter storm conceived by the meeting of cold arctic air with the warmer ocean air from the Gulf Stream.
The storms usually develop from a low-pressure system in the south, typically in the Gulf of Mexico, and then pushed upward.
Nor’easters usually bring massive amounts of precipitation, high winds and large waves and with a full moon, when tides are at their highest, the storm surge could reach as high as 6 to 11 feet.
“The total is greater than the sum of the individual parts,” said Louis Uccellini, the environmental prediction chief of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration meteorologists about the dramatic weather.
Another meteorologist has said the weather system is combining the end of the hurricane season with the start of the winter storm season, “it’s kind of taking something from both – part hurricane, part nor’easter, all trouble”, Jeff Masters, director of the private service Weather Underground told the Associated Press.
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The first deadly signs of Hurricane Sandy’s monstrous power were revealed as it barreled towards land on Monday – with snow falling, rivers breaching and floodwaters submerging cities across the East Coast.
Hurricane Sandy, which forecasters said could be the largest in U.S. history, strengthened overnight to nearly 1,000 miles wide with winds in excess of 85 miles per hour as it accelerated towards Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York.
The worst of the Category 1 storm is expected to bring a “life-threatening” surge of seawater up to 11 feet high, coastal hurricane winds and a barrage of heavy snow in the Appalachian Mountains.
Already the hurricane is showing its breathtaking power as hundreds of thousands of residents scrambled to higher ground, public transport systems shut down and thousands of flights across the country were cancelled.
The Hudson River which connects New Jersey and Manhattan’s west side has breached – already inflicting more damage than Hurricane Irene last year.
Across Norfolk, Virginia, residents were knee-deep in floodwaters as they travelled to work or scrambled to stock up on last-minute groceries. In the southeast of the state, tides are expected to run between five and eight feet above normal.
Floodwaters were also seeping into New York, with homes in Gilgo, Long Island becoming quickly submerged.
In Boone, North Carolina, snow began falling at 8:00 a.m.; the Appalachian mountain town is expected to suffer a miserable few days with snow, rain and temperatures struggling to get out of the 30s. Up to eight inches of snow is expected but, in places of higher elevation, there may be as many as 12.
In Oak Orchard, Delaware, rescue efforts by the National Guard and local authorities were already underway for residents who had failed to heed the mandatory evacuation issued over the weekend.
Hurricane Sandy has already killed at least 66 people – including 51 in Haiti – in the Caribbean before pounding U.S. coastal areas with rain.
But the New Jersey shore is expected to take the brunt of the massive weather front as Sandy hits near Atlantic City, which has already suffered heavy flooding, on Monday night and churns north, with 50 million people in its path.
Nine U.S. states have declared states of emergency with the National Guard poised to swoop in, and President Barack Obama has warned the nation to brace itself.
“This is a serious and big storm,” Barack Obama said after a briefing at the federal government’s storm response center in Washington.
“We don’t yet know where it’s going to hit, where we’re going to see the biggest impacts.”
National Guard and local authorities are underway for East Coast residents who had failed to heed the mandatory evacuation issued ahead of Hurricane Sandy
Between 2:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. on Monday, winds increased by 10 mph to a maximum of 85 mph, the National Hurricane Center said. Landfall is expected between late Monday and early Tuesday, with Google providing a tracking map to show the storm’s progress.
Forecasters said Sandy, dubbed Frankenstorm, could surge to a “super storm” as it joins an Arctic jet stream, sparking flash floods and snow storms – and making it unlike anything seen over the eastern United States in decades.
“The last time we saw anything like this was never,” Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy said on Sunday.
“I don’t know how to say it any clearer than that it is the largest threat to human life our state has experienced in anyone’s lifetime.”
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie added: “Don’t be stupid. Get out!”
New York and other cities and towns have closed their transit systems and ordered mass evacuations from low-lying areas ahead of the storm surge.
Classes were cancelled on Monday for more than two million public school students in New York, Philadelphia, Boston and Baltimore, while universities and government offices in states including Washington and New Jersey were shut down.
All U.S. stock markets will be closed on Monday and possibly Tuesday, the operator of the New York Stock Exchange said late on Sunday, reversing an earlier plan that would have kept electronic trading going on Monday.
Hurricane Sandy forced Barack Obama and Mitt Romney to cancel some campaign stops and fuelled concern it could disrupt early voting – encouraged by the candidates this year more than ever – before the November 6 election.
The United Nations, Broadway theaters, New Jersey casinos, schools up and down the Eastern Seaboard, and myriad corporate events were also being shut down on Monday.
Residents along the New Jersey coast were warned they may not survive Hurricane Sandy if they do not evacuate low-lying areas.
The National Weather Service issued the stark warning last night as the massive weather front surged closer to the East Coast.
A statement read: “If you are reluctant [to evacuate], think about your loved ones…think about the rescue/recovery teams who will rescue you if you are injured or recover your remains if you do not survive.”
About 50 million people from the Mid-Atlantic to Canada are in the path of the 1,000-mile-wide monster, which is expected to topple trees, damage buildings, cause power outages and trigger heavy flooding.
Many workers planned to stay home on Monday, while thousands of flights into and out of the U.S. northeast were grounded on as airports closed, stranding passengers from Hong Kong to Europe.
The massive storm threatens to bring a near halt to air travel for at least two days in a key region for both domestic and international flights.
Frankestorm is also expected to inflict power outages along the east coast, with officials already expressing fears that homes and businesses could be without power for days.
“We could be talking about weeks,” Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy warned.
Officials told residents to head for higher ground as evacuations were ordered on the East Coast including a mandatory one for New York City which saw Mayor Michael Bloomberg advise 375,000 people to leave low-lying areas.
Buses were no longer running and flights in and out of the city cancelled. More than 7,000 flights have been cancelled so far – already leaving a backlog of tens of thousands.
The New York subway closed at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday for only the second time in history, meaning that almost 12 million people will be prevented from taking their usual route to work.
The MTA said the duration of the service suspension is “unknown” and that “service will be restored only when it is safe to do so, after careful inspections of all equipment and tracks”.
Transport officials warned: “Even with minimal damage this is expected to be a lengthy process.”
The New York Stock Exchange said on Sunday it is putting in place contingency plans and will announce later when the trading floor will reopen.
It is the first time in 27 years the NYSE has been forced to close due to the weather.
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President Barack Obama has warned Americans to take Hurricane Sandy seriously as authorities started shutting down the eastern seaboard ahead of its arrival.
Several states have declared emergencies, with tens of millions of people affected as schools are closed and transport services suspended.
Experts fear Hurricane Sandy may become a super-storm when it makes landfall later.
Some election rallies have been called off, with Barack Obama warning affected citizens to take precautions.
International travel has been badly affected. Air France, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic grounded Monday’s transatlantic flights to and from East Coast cities, including New York, Baltimore, Newark, Washington, Boston and Philadelphia.
At 02:00 EDT, the storm was turning north, its eye swirling about 425 miles (760 km) south-east of New York City, according to the National Hurricane Center.
With winds of 75 mph, Hurricane Sandy, dubbed “Frankenstorm”or “Superstorm”, is expected to bring a “life-threatening” surge flood to the mid-Atlantic coast, including Long Island Sound and New York Harbour.
The winds are expected to strengthen when Hurricane Sandy makes landfall anywhere between Virginia and southern New England on Monday.
The prospect of merging with a wintry storm coming from the west during a full moon has many fearing dangerous high tides.
Sandy is some 520 miles (835 km) across. It is also very slow, moving north-east at just 15 mph, and could linger over as many as 12 states for 24-36 hours, bringing up to 25 cm of rain, 60 cm of snow, extreme storm surges and power cuts.
States of emergency have been declared in Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington DC and parts of North Carolina.
The two presidential election contenders have modified their campaign engagements, with Mitt Romney pulling out of an event in Virginia and Barack Obama cancelling rallies in Virginia and Colorado.
The president has pulled out of a Monday event in Ohio – considered a key swing state – in order to return to Washington to monitor the storm – although he is still set to attend a rally with former President Bill Clinton in Florida earlier on Monday.
Visiting the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in Washington on Sunday, Barack Obama vowed his government would “respond big and respond fast” after Hurricane Sandy had passed.
Con Edison workers prepare for Hurricane Sandy using sandbags to cover up power vaults in New York
Amtrak has started suspending passenger train services across the north-eastern US and air travel has been badly hit, with some 6,800 flights cancelled.
New York City’s subway, bus and train services were suspended from 19:00 on Sunday, and schools will be shut on Monday.
With predicted storm surges of up to 11 ft, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg ordered 375,000 people in the city’s vulnerable low-lying areas to leave their homes.
Evacuation shelters have been set up at 76 public schools.
“If you don’t evacuate you’re not just putting your own life in danger, you are also endangering lives of our first responders who would have to rescue you,” he said.
The Statue of Liberty was reopened on Sunday after a year of renovation, but only a group of army cadets got a tour before it was shut again until at least Wednesday.
Some 200 National Guardsmen will patrol Manhattan and 300 more will be deployed in Long Island.
The New York Stock Exchange will be fully closed on Monday, its operator said, and possibly on Tuesday as well.
It had earlier said electronic transactions would be possible but on Sunday announced it was closing fully because “the dangerous conditions developing as a result of Hurricane Sandy will make it extremely difficult to ensure the safety of our people and communities”.
Similar precautions were taken last year as Hurricane Irene approached the East Coast. It killed more than 40 people from North Carolina to Maine and caused an estimated $10 billion worth of damage.
FEMA has warned that the threat extends well inland, and has issued safety tips on how to cope with the hurricane.
Blustery winds were already being felt in New York on Sunday night and the anxiety felt on the streets indicated that residents were taking city orders seriously and with haste.
In New Jersey, Governor Chris Christie confirmed a swathe of mandatory evacuations, told civil servants to stay at home on Monday and said the casinos in Atlantic City had closed.
“The weather will turn ugly [on Monday] and we want everyone off the roads,” he said.
“Don’t be stupid. Get out. Don’t try to be a hero and act as if nothing is going on here.”
New Jersey authorities expect very significant flooding, with three increasingly high tides on Monday, possibly creating surges of 13-14 ft – the worst since 1903, authorities said.
Hurricane Sandy has already killed 60 people in the Caribbean during the past week.
TRAVEL CHAOS IN NEW YORK
• New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced service on subways will be curtailed beginning at 7:00 p.m.
• The bus network will cease to operate at 9:00 p.m.
• Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad will start their finals trains by 7:00 p.m. from terminal locations
• Stations will close once the last trains pass through
• New Jersey has suspended all services from 4 p.m. Sunday until 2 a.m. Monday
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New York City is on lockdown in anticipation of Hurricane Sandy, as it barrels towards America’s largest city, and its residents were quick to respond rushing to stock up the essentials.
Staples like bread, water, eggs, and produce have been flying off the shelves as the city’s 8 million residents prepare for the megastorm.
In addition, for only the second time in the subway’s hundred-year history, the entire metropolitan transit system, including buses, will be halted, starting at 7:00 p.m. tonight, adding a sense of urgency to New Yorker’s pre-storm preparations.
In a news conference shortly before noon, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said that those living in low-lying areas must evacuate, and said that all public schools will be closed tomorrow.
The mayor urged residents of New York to stay inside as much as possible starting at sundown tonight, warning of high winds up to 70 mph and torrential rain.
In addition to low-lying areas of Manhattan, Michael Bloomberg ordered that residents of the Rockaways, a low-lying area of Queens by Jamaica Bay, evacuate.
“If you don’t evacuate, you are not only endangering your life, you are also endangering the lives of the first responders who are going in to rescue you,” he said today.
“This is a serious and dangerous storm.”
New York City is on lockdown in anticipation of Hurricane Sandy and its residents were quick to respond rushing to stock up the essentials
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo echoed Michael Bloomberg’s warnings.
“A situation like this, you don’t want to be overly panicked and overly prepared, but you want to be prudent, you want to do what’s necessary,” he said.
Andrew Cuomo also said the National Guard would be deployed, 200 troops in New York City, and 400 on Long Island.
In addition, nearly 4,000 flights were canceled for Monday, with 857 cancellations at Newark in New Jersey, followed by 632 at New York’s Kennedy Airport and more than 500 cancellations at both New York’s LaGuardia and Philadelphia International.
FlightAware said it expects the number of flight cancellations for Monday and Tuesday to “rise considerably”.
A spokesman for United Airlines parent United Continental Holdings Inc. told the Associated Press that the carrier has suspended an unspecified number of flights to New York and Washington-area airports beginning Sunday evening with plans to resume Tuesday as conditions permit.
JetBlue Airways, which flies out of JFK, said it has canceled more than 1,000 flights from Sunday through Wednesday morning.
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New York City’s public transport system will be suspended tonight ahead of the arrival on Monday of Hurricane Sandy.
Governor Andrew Cuomo said the subway, bus and train services would shut down from 19:00 on Sunday.
As many as 375,000 people have been ordered to evacuate low-lying areas, and schools will be shut.
Sandy’s winds are set to intensify as it merges with a wintry storm from the western US. A number of states on the East Coast have declared an emergency.
Up to 60 million people could be affected by the storm, which is set to hit several states key to the 6 November presidential election
Barack Obama and Mitt Romney have modified their campaign engagements. President Barack Obama described the storm as “big, serious and slow-moving” – and said it would pose additional problems.
“It is important for us to respond big and to respond fast,” he said after a meeting at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
Asked whether the storm would affect the vote, Barack Obama said: “We don’t anticipate that at this point but we’re obviously going to have to take a look.”
Republican candidate Mitt Romney has cancelled an event scheduled for Sunday in Virginia, a key election state, because of the weather, and was instead heading to Ohio.
Hurricane Sandy has already killed 60 people in the Caribbean during the past week.
At 11:00 EDT, the eye of Hurricane Sandy was about 250 miles (400 km) South of Cape Hatteras in North Carolina, and 575 miles south of New York City, according to the National Hurricane Center.
With winds of 75 mph, it was expected to bring a “life-threatening” surge flooding to the Mid-Atlantic coast, including Long Island Sound and New York Harbour.
The centre said winds were expected to be near hurricane force at landfall.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said people needed to start taking action immediately.
New York City’s public transport system will be suspended tonight ahead of the arrival on Monday of Hurricane Sandy
Michael Bloomberg said the worst of the storm would hit New York on Monday, but warned that a storm surge expected later on Sunday could do “plenty of damage”.
“I don’t want anybody to go to bed tonight thinking that they can spend the day worrying about the night after,” he said.
The mayor said 375,000 people living in low-lying areas should leave on Sunday.
In his warning, Governor Cuomo said he did not want to overreact, but to be “prudent”. He urged people not in low-lying areas to stay at home.
Flights were expected to be affected – Air France says it will cancel all flights into New York and Washington DC on Monday.
However, the New York Stock Exchange announced it would open as usual on Monday.
“We continue to monitor the situation and to communicate with government officials, regulators, and markets participants,” NYSE spokesman Rich Adamonis told Reuters news agency.
Similar precautions were taken last year as Hurricane Irene approached the East Coast. It killed more than 40 people from North Carolina to Maine and caused an estimated $10 billion worth of damage.
FEMA director Craig Fugate said: “This is not a coastal threat alone. This is a very large area.”
Its safety tips include preparations for and what to do during and after a hurricane.
While the East Coast is used to extreme weather, Sandy is causing concern to meteorologists who fear it could mutate into a “Frankenstorm” as it merges with a winter storm in the run-up to Halloween.
It is only moving north-east at 14mph, and could hit as many as 12 states, bringing up to 25 cm of rain, 60 cm of snow, extreme storm surges and power cuts.
States of emergency have been declared in Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington DC and a coastal county in North Carolina.
The NHC said further strengthening was possible on Sunday, before Sandy touched down anywhere between Virginia and southern New England late on Monday.
In New Jersey, Governor Chris Christie pleaded with residents not to be complacent.
“I know everyone’s saying this isn’t going to happen… that the weathermen always get it wrong,” he said.
He urged people to stock up on essentials in case they were trapped at home for a few days.
“We have to be prepared for the worst here. I can be as cynical as any of you but when the storm comes, if it’s as bad as they’re predicting it will be, you’re gonna wish you weren’t as cynical as you might otherwise have been.”
Delaware has ordered a mandatory evacuation of 50,000 people from coastal areas.
Earlier in the week, Hurricane Sandy caused havoc as it ploughed across the Caribbean, killing at least 44 people in Haiti, 11 in Cuba and four more in the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and the Bahamas.
Hurricane Sandy is swirling towards the US East Coast, forcing presidential candidates to adjust schedules and cancel events.
President Barack Obama has held a conference call with emergency chiefs to discuss preparations for the storm, which could hit as early as Monday.
Its sustained winds of 75 mph (120 km/h) are set to intensify as it merges with a wintry storm from the western US.
A number of states key to the election could be hit by a storm that may affect up to 60 million Americans.
At 20:00 EDT, the eye of the storm was about 330 miles south of Cape Hatteras in North Carolina, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Craig Fugate, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said: “This is not a coastal threat alone. This is a very large area.”
Hurricane Sandy has already killed 60 people in the Caribbean as it swirled north during the past week.
Republican candidate Mitt Romney cancelled an event scheduled for Sunday in Virginia, a key election state, because of the weather, and was instead heading to Ohio.
Barack Obama will head to Florida on Sunday rather than Monday, and has cancelled a campaign stop with former President Bill Clinton in Virginia on Monday and a rally in Colorado on Tuesday to monitor the storm from the White House, said White House spokesman Jay Carney.
Vice-President Joe Biden also cancelled a rally in coastal Virginia to allow for disaster preparations.
Early balloting in Maryland saw lines of voters stretching for a number of blocks at some polling stations on Saturday.
But despite concerns about Hurricane Sandy’s impact, with some polls suggesting the contest is a virtual dead heat, both Mitt Romney and Barack Obama pressed ahead with campaigning in key swing states on Saturday.
Nine states are thought to be too close to call.
In New Hampshire, Barack Obama urged his supporters to encourage people to vote early and allow him to finish the job he started.
“We’ve still got a lot of work to do, but New Hampshire and the country has come too far to go back to the policies that got us into this mess,” he said.
“All he’s offering is a big rerun of the same policies,” Barack Obama said of his opponent.
In Florida, Mitt Romney said he stood for “big ideas” that would get America going again, compared to what he called Barack Obama’s “shrinking agenda”.
“The president doesn’t have a plan, he’s out of ideas, he’s out of excuses and this November, Florida is going to make sure we put him out of office,” Mitt Romney said to cheers from the conservative crowd in Pensacola.
New Jersey people board up their homes in preparation for Hurricane Sandy
How Barack Obama handles the weather emergency and how far Mitt Romney tries to make political capital out of it could enhance or harm their chances.
While the East Coast is used to extreme weather, Hurricane Sandy is concerning meteorologists who fear it could mutate into a “Frankenstorm” as it merges with a winter storm in the run-up to Halloween.
It is only moving north-east at 13 mph, meaning it could hover for 36 hours over as many as 12 states, bringing up to 10 in (25 cm) of rain, 2 ft of snow, extreme storm surges and power cuts.
States of emergency have been declared in Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington DC and a coastal county in North Carolina.
Tropical storm warnings are in effect in both South and North Carolina, as well as Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds.
The NHC said further strengthening was possible on Sunday, before Sandy touched down anywhere between Virginia and southern New England late on Monday.
In New Jersey, Governor Chris Christie pleaded with residents not to be complacent.
“I know everyone’s saying this isn’t going to happen… that the weathermen always get it wrong,” he said.
He urged people to stock up on essentials in case they were trapped at home for a few days.
“We have to be prepared for the worst here. I can be as cynical as any of you but when the storm comes, if it’s as bad as they’re predicting it will be, you’re gonna wish you weren’t as cynical as you might otherwise have been.”
Delaware has ordered a mandatory evacuation of 50,000 people from coastal areas.
New York has not yet ordered evacuations.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg said: “This is a dangerous storm. But I think we’re going to be OK.”
Earlier in the week, Hurricane Sandy caused havoc as it ploughed across the Caribbean, killing at least 44 people in Haiti, 11 in Cuba and four more in the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and the Bahamas.
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Hurricane Sandy could merge with a winter storm to create what they have dubbed “Frankenstorm” as it churns towards the US, forecasters warn.
Sandy has weakened to a category one hurricane, but is still packing maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 km/h).
Hurricane Sandy reportedly caused up to 40 deaths as it tore through the Caribbean on Thursday and Friday.
The storm is projected to hit the US late on Monday, a week before the presidential election.
States of emergency have been declared in Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington and a coastal county in North Carolina.
The US Navy base in Norfolk, Virginia was reportedly sending a whole fleet of ships out to sea to avoid the storm.
At 23:00 EDT, the hurricane was moving north over the Bahamas at about 7 mph, some 400 miles (630 km) south-east of Charleston in South Carolina, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).
Hurricane-strength winds were being experienced 70 miles from the centre of the storm, which was expected to slowly weaken during the weekend, reported the NHC.
American meteorologists expect a combination of high winds, heavy rain and extreme tides, as well as snow in some areas.
Up to 10 in (25 cm) of rain, 2ft of snow and extreme storm surges are forecast.
“It’s going to be a long-lasting event, two to three days of impact for a lot of people,” said James Franklin, head forecaster at the NHC.
Hurricane Sandy could merge with a winter storm to create what they have dubbed “Frankenstorm” as it churns towards the US
Hurricane Sandy is expected to strike the US late on Monday or early Tuesday somewhere along the US east coast, a day before Halloween and a week before millions of Americans go to the polls to choose a next president.
It could make landfall anywhere between Virginia, Maryland or Delaware up through New York or southern New England.
In New York City, officials are already considering closing down mass transit before the storm hits.
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney cancelled an event scheduled for Sunday in Virginia, a key election state, because of the weather, said an aide.
Earlier on Friday, the White House declined to speculate on whether Hurricane Sandy would affect President Barack Obama’s campaign plans, saying the storm’s path was still uncertain.
Forecasters say Hurricane Sandy is similar to another late October storm – when several weather systems, including a hurricane, combined along the US Atlantic coast in 1991, leading to what was dubbed “the Perfect Storm”.
Jeff Masters, meteorology director at Weather Underground, estimated there could be more than $1 billion in damages from Hurricane Sandy.
On Thursday, Hurricane Sandy caused a storm surge leading to severe flooding along Cuba’s south-eastern coastline.
Civil emergency authorities said 11 people had died as the storm lashed the island – nine of those in Santiago province and two in Guantanamo province, despite Cuba’s well-rehearsed hurricane preparations. Most victims were killed by falling trees or collapsing buildings.
“The hurricane was very big. I have never seen anything like it in my 54 years,” said Santiago resident Reinaldo Rivas.
Elsewhere, 20 deaths were reported in Haiti – where much of the infrastructure remains in a poor condition following a massive earthquake in 2010.
More than 1,000 people sought refuge in shelters there, as Hurricane Sandy caused widespread power outages, flooded streets and damaged buildings.
Four fatalities were reported across the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and the Bahamas.
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Hurricane Sandy, which left 21 people dead as it barreled through the Caribbean, could likely metamorphose into frightening storm that could cause $1 billion in damages.
Experts say the tempest – dubbed Frankenstorm – has a 90% chance of hitting the East Coast of the U.S., having the potential to wreak havoc with heavy winds, rain, flooding, and downed trees and power lines.
In fact, longtime weatherman Chad Myers, who works for the NOAA, wrote: “After 26 years in TV weather and two years with NOAA, Sandy may pose the greatest risk to human life that I have seen.”
The projected course of Hurricane Sandy is difficult to guess at this time, though.
Experts from the Weather Channel are cautioning residents in the eastern states, including North Carolina, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia.
Residents in coastal areas are advised to take precaution as the deadly storm barrels its way up the U.S. shoreline. Early forecasting by NOAA reveals that the storm could hit somewhere between Pennsylvania and Long Island, putting central New Jersey at the greatest risk thus far.
Those in the tri-state area are no strangers to deadly super storm threats. Only last year, Hurricane Irene ploughed through the greater New York City area, causing extensive damage. However, the overall impact was less than expected.
The Frankenstorm could also deposit snowfall as far south as North Carolina, according to The Wall Street Journal’s Metropolis blog.
Government meteorologists are giving the storm a 70% chance of hitting land next week, ruining Halloween celebrations for millions of children who have dressed up for trick or treating door knocks.
“The potential is there,” said National Weather Service scientist Charlie Foley.
The horrific storm could happen if Hurricane Sandy in the Caribbean, an early winter storm in the West, and a blast of arctic air from the North collide, sloshing and parking over the country’s most populous coastal corridor starting Sunday.
The worst of it should peak early Tuesday, but it will stretch into midweek, forecasters say.
“It’ll be a rough couple days from Hatteras up to Cape Cod,” said forecaster Jim Cisco of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) prediction center in College Park, Maryland.
“We don’t have many modern precedents for what the models are suggesting.”
It is likely to hit during a full moon when tides are near their highest, increasing coastal flooding potential, NOAA forecasts warn. And with some trees still leafy and the potential for snow, power outages could last to Election Day, some meteorologists fear. They say it has all the earmarks of a billion-dollar storm.
Currently, Hurricane Sandy is moving through the Caribbean with high winds and heavy rain.
It made landfall in southeastern Jamaica yesterday with a wind speed of 80 mph and has already been responsible for the death of one person in Haiti and two in Jamaica.
Some have compared it to the so-called Perfect Storm that struck off the coast of New England in 1991, but Jim Cisco said that one didn’t hit as populated an area and is not comparable to what the East Coast may be facing. Nor is it like last year’s Halloween storm, which was merely an early snowstorm in the Northeast.
Multiple elements must come together for Hurricane Sandy to become a repeat or match the Perfect Storm of 1991.
The worst-case scenario occurs as Sandy, in the form of a Category 1 hurricane or hybrid storm traveling north to be captured by chilly air coming down from Canada to be met by strong high level winds off the North Atlantic coast.
This nightmare outcome is referred to by meteorologists as an atmospheric “bomb” according to Accuweather.
Fearing this, people from North Carolina to Maine and Nova Scotia have been told to keep watching weather forecasts in case the Halloween storm does hit with full force.
This has much more mess potential because it is a combination of different storm types that could produce a real whopper of weather problems, meteorologists say.
“The Perfect Storm only did $200 million of damage and I’m thinking a billion,” said Jeff Masters, meteorology director of the private service Weather Underground.
“Yeah, it will be worse.”
But this is several days in advance, when weather forecasts are far less accurate. The National Hurricane Center only predicts five days in advance, and on Wednesday their forecasts had what’s left of Sandy off the North Carolina coast on Monday.
But the hurricane center’s chief hurricane specialist, James Franklin, said the threat keeps increasing for a major impact in the Northeast, New York area.
“In fact it would be such a big storm that it would affect all of the Northeast.”
Late Thursday, the hurricane’s center was about 185 miles (300 kilometers) east-southeast of Freeport, Bahamas. The storm had maximum sustained winds of 90 mph (150 km/h) and was moving north-northwest at 13 mph (20 km/h).
Sandy, which crossed Cuba and reached the Bahamas as a category 2 hurricane, was expected to maintain its category 1 storm status for the next several days.
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