As tens of millions of people in the eastern third of the U.S.
prepare for drenching rain and winds that could hit 80 mph from
Hurricane Sandy, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that New York City
will suspend its bus, subway and commuter rail service Sunday evening
ahead of the storm
.
“You don’t want to be over panicked and overly prepared, but you want
to be prudent and do what’s necessary," Cuomo said, indicating that the
transit system will close at 7 p.m. ET.
New Jersey's PATH train service, which ferries passengers between New
York City and New Jersey, also announced Sunday that it would close
starting Monday until further notice. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg
ordered the closure of all city public schools for Monday and mandatory
evacuations of all low-lying areas. He urged residents in lower
Manhattan to call 311 or visit the city's website for information on
evacuation zones.
Cuomo added that bridges and tunnels around New York will be closed
on a case-by-case basis, and 1,100 National Guard troops will be
deployed to the area, including 400 on Long Island and 200 in New York
City.
"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," Bloomberg said.
The warning from other officials to anyone who might be affected in
the storm's path was simple: Be prepared and get out of the way. The
storm is expected to bring a few days of rain, high winds and possibly
heavy snow.
"We're looking at impact of greater than 50 to 60 million people,"
said Louis Uccellini, head of environmental prediction for the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Hurricane Sandy was headed north from the Caribbean, where it left
nearly five dozen dead, to meet a winter storm and a cold front, plus
high tides from a full moon, and experts said the rare hybrid storm that
results will cause havoc through 800 miles from the East Coast to the
Great Lakes.
Sandy was at Category 1 strength, packing 75 mph winds, about 250
miles southeast of Cape Hatteras, N.C., and moving northeast at 14 mph
as of 11 a.m. Sunday, according to the National Hurricane Center in
Miami. It was about 575 miles south of New York City. Waves are already
battering Hatteras Island.
The storm was expected to continue moving parallel to the Southeast
coast most of the day and approach the coast of the mid-Atlantic states
by Monday night, before reaching southern New England later in the week.
"I've been here since 1997, and I never even put my barbecue grill
away during a storm," Russ Linke said shortly before he and his wife
left Ship Bottom, N.J. on Saturday. "But I am taking this one seriously.
They say it might hit here. That's about as serious as it can get."
He and his wife secured the patio furniture, packed the bicycles into the pickup truck, and headed off the island.
The danger was hardly limited to coastal areas. Forecasters were far
more worried about inland flooding from storm surge than they were about
winds. Rains could saturate the ground, causing trees to topple into
power lines, utility officials said, warning residents to prepare for
several days at home without power.
States of emergency were declared from North Carolina, where gusty
winds whipped steady rain on Sunday morning, to Connecticut. Delaware
ordered mandatory evacuations for coastal communities by 8 p.m. Sunday.
"You never want to be too naive, but ultimately, it's not in our
hands anyway," said Andrew Ferencsik, 31, as he purchased plywood and
2-by-4 lumber from a Home Depot in Lewes, Del.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who was criticized for not
interrupting a vacation in Florida while a snowstorm pummeled the state
in 2010, broke off campaigning for Republican presidential nominee Mitt
Romney in North Carolina on Friday to return home.
"I can be as cynical as anyone," said Christie, who declared a state
of emergency Saturday. "But when the storm comes, if it's as bad as
they're predicting, you're going to wish you weren't as cynical as you
otherwise might have been."
Up and down the Eastern Seaboard and far inland, officials urged residents and businesses to prepare in ways big and small.
In Nassau County on Long Island, County Executive Edward P. Mangano said three public shelters will be opened at 1 p.m.
"Get your emergency kits ready and be prepared to move," he said.
In neighboring Suffolk County, a mandatory evacuation of Fire Island
by 2 p.m. Sunday was ordered, with all parks to close at 6 p.m.
The town of Ocean City has ordered an evacuation of downtown residents as Hurricane Sandy heads for the Delmarva Peninsula.
Residents must leave the area south of 17th St. by 8 p.m. Sunday.
In addition, a voluntary evacuation order has been issued for
residents and occupants of known low-lying areas. And Mayor Rick Meehan
has closed the beach to everyone until further notice.
The town says severe flooding is expected.
Amtrak began canceling train service Saturday night to parts of the
East Coast, including between Washington and New York. Airlines started
moving planes out of airports to avoid damage and adding Sunday flights
out of New York and Washington in preparation for flight cancellations
on Monday.
Airlines also cancelled more than 3,000 flights as of Sunday morning,
with hubs along the East Coast bearing the brunt of the disruptions.
According to the flight-tracking service FlightAware, 707 flights
have been cancelled Sunday, with more than 265 cancellations at Newark
Airport.
For Monday, 2,499 flights are cancelled, with 774 cancellations at
Newark, followed by 428 at Dulles in Washington and 355 cancellations at
Philadelphia.
The Virginia National Guard was authorized to call up to 500 troops
to active duty for debris removal and road-clearing, while homeowners
stacked sandbags at their front doors in coastal towns.
In Arlington, just outside Washington, D.C., a few shoppers strolled
in and outside a Giant supermarket. Cathy Davis, 40, said the
supermarket was sold out of the water she wanted to purchase, but she
wasn't doing much else to prepare. She figured she would bring her
outdoor furniture inside later in the day, and might make some chili.
She said the storm did lead her to decide against decorating for Halloween.
"I was like, 'eh, it will just be blown away anyway,'" she said. "What's the point."
President Barack Obama was monitoring the storm and working with
state and locals governments to make sure they get the resources needed
to prepare, administration officials said.
In North Carolina's Outer Banks, there was some scattered, minor
flooding at daybreak Sunday on the beach road in Nags Head. The bad
weather could pick up there later in the day, with the major concerns
being rising tides and pounding waves.
In New Jersey, hundreds of coastal residents started moving inland.
Christie's emergency declaration will force the shutdown of Atlantic
City's 12 casinos for only the fourth time in the 34-year history of
legalized gambling here. City officials said they would begin evacuating
the gambling hub's 30,000 residents at noon Sunday, busing them to
mainland shelters and schools.
The storm also forced the presidential campaign to juggle schedules.
Romney scrapped plans to campaign Sunday in Virginia and switched his
schedule for the day to Ohio. First lady Michelle Obama canceled an
appearance in New Hampshire for Tuesday, and Obama moved a planned
Monday departure for Florida to Sunday night to beat the storm. He also
canceled appearances in Northern Virginia on Monday and Colorado on
Tuesday.
Former sailor Ray Leonard, 85, had a bit of advice for those in the
path of the storm. Leonard and two crewmates in his 32-foot sailboat,
Satori, rode out 1991's infamous "perfect storm," made famous by the
Sebastian Junger best-selling book of the same name, before being
plucked from the Atlantic off Martha's Vineyard, Mass., by a Coast Guard
helicopter.
"Don't be rash," Leonard said Saturday from his home in Fort Myers,
Fla. "Because if this does hit, you're going to lose all those little
things you've spent the last 20 years feeling good about."
