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News Channel 7
Published: October 30, 2012
Updated: October 30, 2012 – 11:52 PM
NEW YORK, NY —
Millions Still Without Power After Sandy Moves Inland
he death toll continues to rise and the scope of the devastation from Sandy is still being calculated.
At least 50 deaths have been linked to Sandy. Many of the victims were killed by trees uprooted by the superstorm.
Forecasters say it’s turning from Pennsylvania into western New York, where it’s expected to dump more rain. The effects of the storm have been felt from North Carolina to New England, from Michigan to the mountains of West Virginia. Waves on Lake Michigan topped 20 feet, and more than a foot of snow has fallen in West Virginia.
On the East Coast, it will be days before power and subway service can be restored in New York, where tunnels were flooded and parts of the electrical system were damaged by flood waters. Sandy, combined with a high tide, sent water over sea walls and into low-lying portions of Manhattan and other parts of the city.
In New Jersey, water is where it shouldn’t be — in housing developments, the streets of coastal communities and inside businesses. Landmarks, amusement park rides and boats are battered or misplaced. Gov. Chris Christie says what he saw during a helicopter tour was “unthinkable.” He’s to take another tour on Wednesday with President Barack Obama.
Millions are without power because of the storm. More than 8.2 million households in 17 states lost power.
Superstorm Sandy Causes Mass Damage At Popular Tourist Attraction
Superstorm Sandy wreaked havoc in New York’s Coney Island – a place better known for hot-dog eating contests than natural disasters.
The storm turned houses into piles of boards and bricks, their foundations visible and water still spouting from pipes. Many houses along the water were either completely washed away or leveled. Sandy’s high water piled sand up to 2 feet high on the famous boardwalk.
But no deaths or injuries were reported. And many of Coney Island’s landmarks, including Nathan’s Famous Hotdogs and the old Cyclone rollercoaster, showed no visible damage.
(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
Storm Surge From Sandy Worst In 200 Years
Blame a very high tide driven by a full moon, the worst storm surge in nearly 200 years, and the placement of underground electrical equipment in flood-prone areas for the most extensive power outage in New York City’s history.
It’s like what happened at the Fukushima nuclear complex in Japan last year – without the radiation. At a Consolidated Edison substation in Manhattan’s East Village, a gigantic wall of water defied elaborate planning and expectations, swamped underground electrical equipment, and left about 250,000 lower Manhattan customers without power.
Last year, the surge from Hurricane Irene reached 9.5 feet at the substation. The utility figured the infrastructure could handle a repeat of the highest surge on record for the area – 11 feet during an 1821 hurricane. But planning big was not big enough. Superstorm Sandy went bigger – a surge of 14 feet.
(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
Cell Service In Ten States Disrupted
Federal regulators say Hurricane Sandy knocked out a quarter of the cell towers in an area spreading across ten states, and the situation could get worse before it gets better.
Many cell towers that are still working are doing so with the help of generators and could run out of fuel before commercial power is restored, the Federal Communications Commission says.
The landline phone network has held up better in the affected area, which stretches from Virginia to Massachusetts, the FCC says, but about a quarter of cable customers are also without service.
(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
Sandy moves inland after leaving 17 dead
NEW YORK (AP) – Superstorm Sandy is winding down and inching its way inland, leaving at least 17 people in seven states dead and more than 7 million power outages in its wake.
New York was one of the hardest hit areas when an unprecedented 13-foot surge of seawater – 3 feet above the previous record – caused the worst damage in the 108-year history of the city’s subway system. It also forced 200 patients to be evacuated from one hospital.
The National Hurricane Center in Miami says the massive storm is moving across Pennsylvania and is expected to take a sharp turn into western New York by tomorrow morning.
The Midwest also is bracing for Sandy. Chicago officials are warning residents to stay away from the Lake Michigan shore as the city prepares for winds of up to 60 miles an hour and waves exceeding 24 feet well into tomorrow.
At least 80 flooded houses destroyed by NYC fire
NEW YORK (AP) – A huge fire destroyed between 80 and 100 houses in a flooded neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens.
More than 190 firefighters have contained the six-alarm blaze fire in the Breezy Point section, but they are still putting out some pockets of fire.
A fire department spokesman says one firefighter suffered a minor injury and was taken to a hospital. Two civilians suffered minor injuries and were treated at the scene.
Officials say the fire was reported around 11 p.m. Monday in an area flooded by the superstorm that began sweeping through the city earlier.
The neighborhood sits on the Rockaway peninsula jutting into the Atlantic Ocean.
Atlantic City mayor disputes NJ governor
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) – Atlantic City’s mayor says he would love nothing better than to confront New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie “mano a mano.”
Speaking on NBC’s “Today” show Tuesday, Mayor Lorenzo Langford disputed Christie’s criticism that Langford erred by allowing people to shelter on the barrier island rather than moving them inland.
Langford says the governor was either misinformed or ill-advised.
The mayor says while most Atlantic City residents fled the island, some decided to stay. Langford says the city had a contingency plan in place for those who didn’t heed the warning to evacuate.
Langford says it’s reprehensible that the governor would try to play politics out of a serious situation.
Speaking on “Today,” Christie said his “anger has turned to sympathy for those folks.”
W.Va. blizzard warning as Appalachia storm blows
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – A blizzard warning covers a large part of West Virginia as snow and high winds blow over Appalachia on the edges of superstorm Sandy.
The National Weather Service says a foot and more of snow was reported in lower elevations of West Virginia, where most towns and roads are. High elevations in the mountains were getting more than two feet.
More than 128,000 customers in West Virginia were without power.
Authorities closed more than 45 miles of Interstate 68 on either side of the West Virginia-Maryland state line because of blizzard conditions and stuck cars.
The State Highway Administration in Maryland says the higher elevations in the western state have gotten more than a foot of snow since Monday afternoon, and it was still snowing at 5 a.m. today.
Amtrak to decide on resuming limited service
WASHINGTON (AP) – Amtrak says most train service in the Northeast remains suspended and a decision will be made later in the day on restoring limited service north and south of New York on Wednesday.
The railroad said in a statement that Amtrak crews are currently inspecting tunnels, tracks, equipment and stations in the Northeast to assess damage from Hurricane Sandy and are beginning to make repairs to sections of Amtrak-owned track. Amtrak said it is also working closely with other railroads on whose tracks Amtrak trains operate to determine when passenger train service can resume.
Most Amtrak service on the East Coast as far north as Boston and as far south as Raleigh, N.C. remains suspended and stations along those routes are closed.
NC ocean search continues for tall ship’s captain
ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. (AP) – The Coast Guard continues searching the Atlantic 90 miles off the North Carolina coast for the captain of the HMS Bounty, which sank during Hurricane Sandy.
Coast Guard Capt. Joe Kelly said Tuesday that 63-year-old Robin Walbridge from St. Petersburg, Fla., could still be alive in the Gulf Stream waters more than a day after the replica 18th-century sailing vessel sank in high winds and waves. The Coast Guard says the ocean temperature in the search area is nearly 80 degrees.
Kelly says Wallbridge went overboard early Monday when the ship rolled as the deck slid below 18-foot waves.
The Coast Guard rescued 14 crew members by helicopter Monday. Hours later they found 42-year-old Claudene Christian, who was later declared dead.
Wall Street still dark, exchanges test systems
NEW YORK (AP) – With lower Manhattan still largely without power Tuesday, U.S. stock exchanges tested contingency plans to ensure trading resumes as soon as possible this week after Hurricane Sandy smashed into the East Coast and shut down operations.
U.S. markets will be closed for a second day, but the New York Stock Exchange said that despite reports that its historic trading floor suffered irreparable damage, no such damage has occurred.
Sections of Manhattan were inundated with water and power was shut off to thousands of people and businesses Monday night.
Futures trading closed at 9:15 a.m. Eastern Tuesday, though volume was very light.
Dow Jones industrial futures rose 8 points to 13,062. The broader SP futures added 3.5 points to 1,411.10. Nasdaq futures slipped 3.75 points to 2,655.25.
Sandy Leaves Death, Damp And Darkness In Wake
President Barack Obama has declared a major disaster in New York and Long Island.
The declaration makes federal funding available to people in the area. It bore the brunt of the sea surge from a superstorm that hit the East Coast on Monday.
The National Hurricane Center said that as of 5 a.m. Tuesday, the storm was moving westward across Pennsylvania and was centered about 90 miles west of Philadelphia.
It lost its hurricane status on Monday and is now considered an extratropical cyclone. It has left more than 7.5 million people without power.
It is expected to move into western New York on Tuesday night and move into Canada on Wednesday.
At least 80 flooded houses destroyed by NYC fire
A huge fire destroyed between 80 and 100 houses in a flooded neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens.
More than 190 firefighters have contained the six-alarm blaze fire in the Breezy Point section, but they are still putting out some pockets of fire.
A fire department spokesman says one firefighter suffered a minor injury and was taken to a hospital. Two civilians suffered minor injuries and were treated at the scene.
Officials say the fire was reported around 11 p.m. Monday in an area flooded by the superstorm that began sweeping through the city earlier.
The neighborhood sits on the Rockaway peninsula jutting into the Atlantic Ocean.
Levee Breaks In NJ town, Hundreds Being Evacuated
Authorities have launched a rescue effort after a broken levee flooded a small northern New Jersey town early Tuesday.
Moonachie Police Sgt. Tom Schmidt says the levee broke and left about 5 feet of water in the streets within 45 minutes.
The police and fire departments are flooded.
Officials are using boats to try to rescue about 800 people living in a trailer park.
There are no reports of injuries or deaths.
Sandy Leaves Death, Damp And Darkness In Wake
As superstorm Sandy marched slowly inland, millions along the East Coast are awaking without power or mass transit, with huge swaths of the nation’s largest city unusually vacant and dark.
New York was among the hardest hit, with its financial heart in Lower Manhattan shuttered for a second day and seawater cascading into the still-gaping construction pit at the World Trade Center.
The storm that made landfall in New Jersey on Monday evening with 80 mph sustained winds killed at least 16 people in seven states. It cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses from the Carolinas to Ohio, caused scares at two nuclear power plants and stopped the presidential campaign cold.
The massive storm reached well into the Midwest. Chicago officials warned residents to stay away from the Lake Michigan shore as the city prepares for high winds and large waves.
At Least 10 Deaths Blamed On Superstorm Sandy
At least 10 deaths are being blamed on Superstorm Sandy, which has knocked out power to over 3 million people across the East.
Sandy slammed into the New Jersey coastline with 80 mph winds Monday night and hurled an unprecedented 13-foot surge of seawater at New York City.
The surge is threatening electrical systems that power Wall Street. Large sections of lower Manhattan have been plunged into darkness as water pressed into the island from three sides.
While Sandy has lost its hurricane status, forecasters say it remains every bit as dangerous to the 50 million people in its path. The hybrid storm is also smacking Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia and Boston with stinging rain and gusts of more than 85 mph. Coastal communities have suffered flooding.
Nation’s Oldest Nuclear Power Placed On Alert
The nation’s oldest nuclear power plant is on alert after waters from a colossal storm reached high levels.
Oyster Creek in Lacey Township, N.J., was already offline for regular maintenance before Sandy, a superstorm downgraded Monday night from a hurricane, slammed the East Coast.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission says an “unusual event” was declared around 7 p.m. when water reached a high level. The situation was upgraded less than two hours later to an “alert,” the second-lowest in a four-tiered warning system.
Federal officials say all nuclear plants are still in safe condition. They say water levels near Oyster Creek, which is along the Atlantic Ocean, will likely recede within a few hours.
Oyster Creek went online in 1969 and provides 9 percent of New Jersey’s electricity.
New York Mayor Implores Residents To Stay Off Streets
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg says backup power has been lost at New York University hospital and the city is working to move people out.
The mayor delivered a news conference Monday night and said rain was tapering off in the city and the storm surge was expected to recede by midnight.
He urged residents not to call 911 unless it was an emergency and implored them to stay off the roads so emergency vehicles could get around.
He says a few parts of lower Manhattan still have power. He said there have been a large number of fires reported from downed power lines.
The superstorm sent water rushing onto city streets has left a large swath of the lower part of Manhattan without power.
Consolidated Edison spokesman Chris Olert said Monday evening that the power was out for most of Manhattan south of 26th Street.
On the east side, the power outage extended from 29th Street south. There were some scattered areas that still had electricity.
Olert said the damage stemmed from flooding and the probable loss of a transmission feeder.
The power outage was separate from a planned power cut that Con Ed did in certain lower Manhattan neighborhoods to protect underwater systems from flood damage.
Olert said there were 250,000 customers without power in Manhattan. A customer represents a single meter, so the number of people actually affected is likely higher.
Forecasters: Sandy’s center makes landfall in NJ
Forecasters say the center of Superstorm Sandy has roared ashore on the New Jersey coast, packing high winds and a life-threatening storm surge.
The National Hurricane Center in Miami said the center of the enormous storm made landfall at 8 p.m. near Atlantic City, after it was reclassified from a hurricane to a post-tropical cyclone.
Sandy had sustained winds of 85 mph. Forecasters say it’s no longer a hurricane, but was still a vast and dangerous hybrid storm
Sandy is combining with a wintry storm from the west and cold air from the Arctic. The superstorm could menace some 50 million people in the nation’s most heavily populated corridor, from big East Coast cities to the Great Lakes.
Just before roaring ashore, the National Hurricane Center announced that it considered Sandy no longer a hurricane but had turned into a wintry hybrid.
Utility cuts power to parts of downtown NYC
New York City’s main utility has cut power to part of downtown Manhattan in a pre-emptive bid to lessen damage from a massive approaching storm.
Consolidated Edison spokesman Chris Olert says the utility cut the power shortly after 7 p.m. Monday to 6,500 customers.
That’s when a few inches of water began spilling over the seawall of lower Manhattan. A weakened Sandy approached the city, threatening an 11-foot storm surge.
Olert says that power was cut to customers in an area bordered by the Brooklyn Bridge, Broadway and the East River.
Superstorm Sandy loses hurricane status
Forecasters say Sandy is no longer a hurricane but is still a dangerous system taking dead aim at New Jersey and Delaware.
The National Hurricane Center said Monday evening that Sandy is a post-tropical storm and losing strength but still has sustained winds at 85 mph. The eye has almost made landfall.
The center says storm surge has reached heights of 12.4 feet at Kings Point, N.Y.
Gaining speed and power through the day, the storm knocked out electricity to more than 1.5 million people and figured to upend life for tens of millions more. It clobbered the boarded-up big cities of the Northeast corridor, from Washington and Baltimore to Philadelphia, New York and Boston, with stinging rain and gusts of more than 85 mph.
Forecasters: Sandy races toward NJ, Delaware coast
Forecasters say the eye of Hurricane Sandy is racing toward an expected landfall early Monday evening in southern New Jersey or Delaware.
The National Hurricane Center said the storm’s top sustained winds are holding at about 90 mph. At 5 p.m. EDT, Sandy’s center was about 30 miles east-southeast of Cape May, N.J. The vast storm was headed west-northwest at 28 miles per hour.
Forecasters say Sandy will lash the coast with life-threatening storm surge and hurricane-force winds.
Sandy was set to collide with a wintry storm from the west and cold air approaching from the Arctic. The combination superstorm could menace some 50 million people in the most heavily populated corridor in the nation, from the East Coast to the Great Lakes.
Forecasters: Sandy Closer To Southern New Jersey
Forecasters say Hurricane Sandy is continuing to move quickly and should make landfall by early Monday evening in southern New Jersey or Delaware.
The National Hurricane Center said the storm’s top sustained winds are holding at about 90 mph with higher gusts. At 4 p.m. EDT, Sandy’s center was about 55 miles east-southeast of Cape May, N.J. It was headed west-northwest at 28 miles per hour.
Forecasters say Sandy should reach the coast within three to five hours.
Sandy was set to collide with a wintry storm from the west and cold air streaming down from the Arctic. The combination superstorm could menace some 50 million people in the most heavily populated corridor in the nation, from the East Coast to the Great Lakes.
Engineers going up to examine dangling NYC crane
New York City engineers and fire department inspectors plan to climb 74 flights of stairs to examine a Manhattan construction crane that’s dangling from a luxury high-rise as Hurricane Sandy approaches.
Buildings department spokesman Tony Sclafani said Monday that it’s a daunting task, but “they’re the best of the best.”
Authorities have been evacuating some neighboring buildings as a precaution.
The cause of the accident isn’t known. Mayor Michael Bloomberg has said all construction cranes were inspected before the storm to make sure they were secure.
It’s unclear whether there was any problem with the way the 57th Street crane was secured, or whether the wind simply was so strong that it bent the rig.
Meteorologists think the wind might have been blowing 95 mph that far above the ground.
Old Guard stays at Tomb of Unknowns in superstorm
Arlington National Cemetery has been closed to tourists because of Hurricane Sandy, but the Army continues to stand guard over the Tomb of the Unknowns.
The Army’s Third U.S. Infantry Regiment, known as The Old Guard, is responsible for guarding the tomb.
Regiment spokesman Maj. John Miller says when the cemetery closes, the guard continues.
But it’s not the familiar, choreographed 21-pace guard that the public typically sees. Instead, soldiers in combat uniforms guard the tomb from a small enclosure covered by a green awning known as “the box,” about 20 feet away.
Miller says if the weather becomes intolerable, the tomb can be guarded from a room inside a nearby amphitheater. But no such order had been given as of Monday afternoon.
Sandy: Losing tropical nature, but gaining girth
Hurricane Sandy as it moved toward land Monday was beginning to morph from hurricane into hybrid storm. The change signals a more diffuse storm that will be bigger and sloppier.
National Hurricane Center Director Rick Knabb said Sandy was beginning to lose its tropical nature as it merges with a cold weather system that is already dumping snow in West Virginia.
Sandy has been among the largest-sized hurricanes. Meteorologist Jeff Masters said that as a hybrid, Sandy’s damage will be even wider. But it will be less intense.
Its force will extend as far as Chicago, where the National Weather Service already has issued high wind warnings and a lakeshore flood warning.
Facebook, Twitter abuzz with hurricane chatter
Whether you call it Frankenstorm, Stormpocalypse or simply Hurricane Sandy, the giant weather system barreling up the East Coast is a favorite topic of conversation on social media from Facebook to Twitter. As people post updates to friends and family, relay emergency information and lighten the mood with humor, it’s clear that discussing natural disasters on social media has become as much a part of the experience as stocking up on bread and batteries.
As of early afternoon Monday, the hashtag Sandy had 233,000 photos on Instagram, the mobile photo-sharing service owned by Facebook. “Hurricanesandy,” meanwhile, had 100,000 photos and Frankenstorm had 20,000 and growing.
As they waited for the storm to hit over the weekend, people posted photos of hurricane-preparedness supplies ranging from canned goods to board games and bottles of wine. Empty grocery store shelves where bread should have been also showed up on Facebook and Instagram.
“There are now 10 pictures per second being posted with the hashtag sandy – most are images of people prepping for the storm and images of scenes outdoors, said Instagram CEO Kevin Systorm in an emailed statement. “I think this demonstrates how Instagram is quickly becoming a useful tool to see the world as it happens – especially for important world events like this.”
By Monday, dispatches about storm preparations gave way to messages of anticipation and real-time updates. Among U.S. users, the terms “Sandy”, “Hurricane Sandy” and “Hurricane” were the most-used terms on Facebook, followed by “stay safe” and “be safe.” In fact, all of the top 10 most-mentioned phrases on Facebook related to the storm in some way among U.S. users, the company said. “Power,” ”cold,” ”my friends” and “prayers” were also in the top 10.
To gauge how much its users are talking about a particular topic, Facebook uses a measurement tool it calls the “talk meter,” which ranks terms around a topic or event on a scale of 1 to 10. Tops that generate the most buzz receive a 10. As of Friday afternoon, Sandy-related chatter was at 7.12, the company said. In comparison, the San Francisco Giants World Series win on Sunday night measured at 6.71 on Facebook.
On Twitter, Frankenstorm, FEMA – for Federal Emergency Management Agency – and New Jersey were among the top trending topics in the United States. Forecasters expected the hurricane’s center to come ashore in southern New Jersey Monday evening.
Foursquare CEO Dennis Crowley reminded his more than 53,000 Twitter followers to “ALWAYS BE CHARGING.” Millions of East Coasters could experience electric power and landline telephone outages. As a result, power-hungry smart phones, laptops and tablet computers may become only way to communicate.
Amtrak cancels Tuesday service in Northeast
Amtrak says it has canceled all Tuesday service in the Northeast due to high winds and heavy rain from Hurricane Sandy.
The railroad said passenger service between Boston and Raleigh, N.C., and between the East Coast and Chicago, New Orleans and Florida will be suspended for the second day in a row.
Cancellations include Acela Express, Northeast Regional, Keystone and Shuttle service, among other trains. Passengers were urged to follow developments on Amtrak.com and Facebook and Twitter sites. No decision has yet been made on when service will be resumed.
Amtrak said passengers who have paid but who didn’t travel because of the service disruption can receive a refund or a voucher for future travel.
Md. closes main highway bridge over Chesapeake Bay
Maryland has closed the main bridge across the Chesapeake Bay because of high winds from Hurricane Sandy.
The Maryland Transportation Authority said it closed the four-lane highway bridge Monday afternoon.
The bridge is the main connector between the Baltimore-Washington area and Maryland’s Eastern Shore, across the bay.
Gov. Martin O’Malley also said they were closing another major bridge, where Interstate 95 crosses the Susquehanna River near the top end of Chesapeake Bay.
Superstorm Sandy-Economic Impact
Hurricane Sandy has already caused the cancelation of thousands of flights, stranding travers. Insurers are expecting to have to pay up to $5 billion. Retailers are expecting smaller sales.
But for the overall economy, damage from the storm is expected to be limited. And analysts say any economic growth that is lost to the storm in the short run will probably be restored after reconstruction begins.
Preliminary estimates are that the damage will range between $10 billion and $20 billion. That could top last year’s Hurricane Irene, which cost $15.8 billion.
If so, Sandy would be among the 10 most costly hurricanes in U.S. history. But it would still be far below the worst — Hurricane Katrina, which cost $108 billion.
Hurricanes, like other disasters, can cause big losses — but also big spikes in economic activity afterward, as buildings are rebuilt or repaired. And Americans may spend more before the storm when they stock up on extra food, water and batteries.
Economic activity in October and November might slow if factory output declines, and if some workers are laid off temporarily and seek unemployment benefits. But the economy could strengthen in December as companies rebound.
Snow plows out in Appalachia, ski resorts opening
Snow plows are out in the southern Appalachian mountains, beginning what could be a long week of snow removal as forecasters predict as much as 3 feet of snow spawned by Hurricane Sandy .
The early snowfall in higher elevations could be a boon for the area’s ski resorts, which have sometimes struggled to keep their slopes open.
Forecasters in West Virginia expanded a blizzard warning for high winds and heavy, wet snow. No significant power outages were reported as of Monday afternoon.
Farther south in Boone, N.C., as much as a foot of snow is expected. Sugar Mountain spokeswoman Kim Jochl says the ski resort plans to open by Halloween, the earliest opening ever in 43 years of operation.
NYC Fire Dept. at scene of dangling crane
A construction crane is dangling off a luxury high-rise in New York City, prompting a large emergency response as a huge storm bears down on New York City.
The crane is at West 57th Street. No injuries are reported, but streets have been cleared as a precaution.
The call came in around 2:30 p.m. Monday as conditions worsened from the approaching Hurricane Sandy. Meteorologists say winds that far off the ground might have been close to 95 mph at the time.
The New York City Buildings Department had suspended construction work at 5 p.m. Saturday in anticipation of the storm. It reminded contractors and property owners to secure construction sites and buildings.
A six-bedroom penthouse at the building, called One57, is under contract for a reported $90 million.
Phone companies prepare for Sandy
Phone companies on the eastern seaboard are preparing Monday for the onslaught of Hurricane Sandy by topping up fuel for backup generators and lining up disaster recovery trailers to move into flooded areas after the storm passes.
At Verizon the largest landline phone company on the East Coast, spokesman John Bonomo says the storm had not yet had any major effect, and the network is performing normally.
At ATT, employees are adding portable generators to cell towers and checking on fuel levels, says spokesman Mark Siegel.
As usual, the phone companies are recommending that people use text messaging when disaster hits and network capacity is strained. Text messages use minimal network resources compared to phone calls and Web surfing.
Cuba’s 2nd city without power, water after Sandy
Residents of Cuba’s second city are without power or running water four days after Hurricane Sandy hit.
Nearly 700,000 people live in and around the eastern city of Santiago. Sound trucks are cruising the streets urging people to boil water to prevent infectious disease. Authorities have set up TVs in public spaces to keep residents informed, and authorities are distributing chlorine.
Sandy killed 11 people in Cuba, making it the island’s deadliest since 2005’s Hurricane Dennis, a category 5 monster that left 16 dead and $2.4 billion in damage.
Authorities have not yet estimated the economic toll from last week’s storm.
But the Communist Party newspaper Granma reports “severe damage to housing, economic activity, fundamental public services and institutions.”
Granma said Monday more than 130,000 homes damaged, with 15,400 destroyed.
Storm will keep financial markets closed Tuesday
Major U.S. stock and bond markets will be closed because of Hurricane Sandy on Tuesday.
It will be the first time since 1888 that the New York Stock Exchange will have been closed for two consecutive days because of bad weather. The cause then was a blizzard that left drifts as high as 40 feet in the streets of New York City.
Much of the East Coast was at a standstill Monday as the storm approached. Mass transit and schools were closed across the region ahead of the storm hitting land, which was expected to happen later Monday.
Areas around the Financial District were part of a mandatory evacuation zone. The storm surge is already pushing water over seawalls in the southern tip of Manhattan.
Sandy Gains Power and Aims for Northeast
Sandy is forecast to turn northwestward Monday and bring life-threatening storm surge and coastal hurricane winds plus heavy Appalachian snows according to the National Hurricane Center.
As of 11 a.m. Monday, Hurricane Sandy was located about 260 miles south, southeast of New York City with maximum sustained winds of 90mph.
Hurricane-force winds are expected along portions of the coast between Chincoteague, Virginia and Chatham, Massachusetts.
This includes New Jersey, the New York City area, Long Island, Connecticut and Rhode Island.
Tropical-storm-force winds are expected north of Chatham to Merrimack river, Massachusetts and south of Chincoteague, Virginia to Duck, North Carolina which is the northern endpoint of the tropical storm warning.
Sandy gains power and aims for Northeast
Hurricane Sandy is gaining strength and has taken a left turn toward the East Coast and its date with two other weather systems. An official with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is calling it “the worst-case scenario.”
The storm, with tropical storm-force winds extending almost 500 miles from its center, is expected to blow ashore along the New Jersey coast tonight or early tomorrow. Combined with high tides and a full moon, it brings the fear of a huge surge of seawater.
The combined storm is expected to affect everyone from the East Coast to the Great Lakes, with up to 3 feet of snow forecast for the West Virginia mountains.
The Coast Guard says it has rescued 14 members of the crew forced to abandon the tall ship HMS Bounty off North Carolina’s Outer Banks. It’s still searching for two more crew members.
Airlines have canceled thousands of flights in the Northeast and air travel could come to a halt for at least two days. That has caused a ripple effect across the globe.
There’s significant damage to a large ocean pier in the Maryland beach resort of Ocean City. Police say it happened overnight before the worst of the storm even hit.
East Coast grinds to a halt as superstorm nears
Forecasters say Hurricane Sandy is about 310 miles southeast of New York City, and the center of the storm is expected to be near the mid-Atlantic coast tonight.
The National Hurricane Center said early today that the storm has top sustained winds of 85 mph, with higher gusts. It is moving toward the north-northwest at 20 mph. Hurricane-force winds extend up to 175 miles from the storm’s center.
Sandy is on track to collide with a wintry storm moving in from the west and cold air streaming down from the Arctic.
Major metropolitan areas from Washington to Boston are bracing for what is expected to be a superstorm that could menace some 50 million people in the most heavily populated corridor in the nation.
Sandy damages pier in downtown Ocean City, Md.
Hurricane Sandy has done significant damage to a large ocean pier in the Maryland beach resort of Ocean City.
Police spokesman Mike Levy confirms the damage, which occurred overnight as the storm began to pound the resort town with waves, wind and rain.
Town officials plan to provide more details at a 10 a.m. Monday news conference.
The pier is at the southern end of the city’s Boardwalk in an area that’s been under a mandatory evacuation order since Sunday afternoon.
Tracy Marie, a front desk worker at a Holiday Inn Suites in Ocean City, said the pier was an icon and about as close to the ocean as one could get without getting in the water.
14 rescued, 2 missing from tall ship off NC
The Coast Guard has rescued 14 members of the crew forced to abandon the tall ship HMS Bounty caught in Hurricane Sandy off the North Carolina Outer Banks.
The Coast Guard is searching for two other crew members. It corrected the total number of crew to 16 from 17.
Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class Brandyn Hill says 14 people were rescued by two Coast Guard helicopters about 6:30 a.m. Monday.
The survivors were being taken to Air Station Elizabeth City on the North Carolina coast.
The director of the HMS Bounty Organization, Tracie Simonin, said that the tall ship left Connecticut last week for St. Petersburg, Fla. She said the crew had been in constant contact with the National Hurricane Center and tried to go around the storm.
All US exchanges shut down before Hurricane Sandy
U.S. stock markets are closed as Hurricane Sandy nears landfall on the East Coast and are likely to remain closed Tuesday.
The last time the New York Stock Exchange had an unplanned closing since the terrorist attacks of September 2001.
Duncan Niederauer, the chief executive of the exchange’s parent company, NYSE Euronext, told CNBC that it was “hard to imagine” that the exchange would open on Tuesday.
A spokesman for the exchange said an official announcement would be made later Monday.
European stock markets were mostly lower. Crude oil fell 32 cents to $85.96 in electronic trading.
U.S. index futures fell slightly in thin trading.
Hurricane Sandy has gained strength as it swirls toward the East Coast.
The National Hurricane Center says the hurricane’s wind speed increase early Monday to 85 mph with additional strengthening possible.
Sandy has forced the shutdown of mass transit, schools and financial markets, sent coastal residents fleeing for higher ground, and threatens to bring a dangerous mix of high winds, soaking rain and a surging wall of water.
Sandy has stayed on a predicted path that could take it over Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York on its way to a collision course with two other weather systems, creating a superstorm with the potential for havoc over 800 miles from the East Coast to the Great Lakes
A late-season hurricane is bearing down on the East Coast.
A late-season hurricane is bearing down on the East Coast. It threatens to inundate New York with an 11-foot wall of water and has sent coastal residents fleeing for higher ground and shuttered major financial markets.
Hurricane Sandy began veering as predicted early Monday on a path that would take it over Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York. It’s expected to collide with two other weather systems, creating the potential for havoc over 800 miles from the East Coast to the Great Lakes.
Many workers planned to stay home as transit systems shut down under the threat of flooding that could inundate tracks and tunnels. Schools and airports closed, and authorities warned that the time for evacuation was running out or already past.
The center of the wide storm was positioned to come ashore Monday night in New Jersey.
Louis Uccellini is environmental prediction chief for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. He says “this is the worst-case scenario.”
