A road sign warns drivers of weather conditions in downtown Washington, DC October 28, 2012 ahead of Hurricane Sandy's landfall. (EVA HAMBACH/AFP/Getty Images)
NEW YORK - Much of New York City and the East coast is hunkering down ahead of mega storm Sandy, as it made landfall late Monday, packing high winds, torrential rains and storm surges that could reach 11 feet.
The National Hurricane Center reported that Sandy is no
longer a hurricane and has transitioned into what it calls a
"post-tropical cyclone." Yet its destructive power will be considerable.
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The nation's largest city was expected to take the brunt of Sandy's brute force, and closed most major bridges and tunnels Monday night after ordering nearly 400,000 residents to evacuate ahead of storm surge flooding that could ripple the area's transportation, power grid and infrastructure for several days.
Nearly 60 million residents of 23 states were under some sort of emergency watch Monday as Sandy - one of the largest storm systems to ever hit the U.S. - was poised to hit the New Jersey coast. Over 14,000 flights were canceled. Trading on the New York Stock Exchange was canceled through Tuesday, as were classes in scores of school districts.
New York City police, fire department and other emergency
personnel are evacuating residents of lower floors in other buildings near the partial crane collapse on W. 57th Street skyscraper. They said the evacuations were being ordered as a precaution in case the broken crane boom falls to the ground. The fire department issued a fourth alarm for the collapse Monday night, sending more
personnel and pieces of equipment to the scene.
Facing a direct hit from Sandy Monday night, Atlantic City and other coastal cities were already under water and some 1 million residents were without electricity. Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Baltimore and Boston were bracing for a prolonged round of heavy rains, severe winds and widening power outages. Higher elevation regions of West Virginia and Virginia were facing blizzard
like conditions and up to three feet of snow.
Craig Fugate, chief of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said FEMA teams were deployed from North Carolina to Maine and as far inland as West Virginia to provide supplies.
Nearly 70 people in Haiti, Cuba and the Bahamas were killed in Sandy's wake. Although no U.S. deaths had been reported, President Obama said Sandy could have "fatal consequences" and urged those in Sandy's path to heed storm warnings.
Some governors didn't mince words. Said Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley; "There will be people who die and are killed in this storm."
"This is not a time to be a show-off. This is not a time to be stupid. This is the time to save yourself and your family," said New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo urged those who hadn't evacuated to stay indoors. "This is probably the last warning that we're going to be able to give people about getting to a safe place before that coastal surge really hits," he said.
Virginia Gov. Robert McDonnell said the state would escape the worst of the storm, but warned 1 million residents could lose power. "Our biggest concern is northern Virginia,'' McDonnell said.
Off Cape Hatteras, N.C., the Coast Guard rescued 14 crew from the HMS Bounty, a replica 18th-century sailing ship that sank in the storm. Two crew members were missing from the ship, built for the 1962 film Mutiny on the Bounty.
Sandy remains a monster storm as tropical-storm-force winds of up to 85 mph are being felt all the way from southern Maine to the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
In an alert reminiscent of an ominous one that came out ahead of Hurricane Katrina's landfall on the Gulf Coast, the National Weather Service issued a statement that said, "If you are reluctant (to evacuate), think about your loved ones. Think about the emergency responders who will be unable to reach you when you make the panicked phone call to be rescued. Think about the rescue/recovery teams who will rescue you if you are injured or recover your remains if you do not survive."
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