The U.S. East Coast ramped up emergency preparations on Saturday for
Hurricane Sandy, a monstrous and deadly storm that forecasters said
could severely impact cities and towns with heavy flooding and fierce
winds.
Sandy moved slowly off
the coast of South Carolina as a Category 1 storm, having left at least
45 dead in its wake in the Caribbean and Central America. It is expected
to begin seriously affecting heavily populated coastal areas in the
East as early as Sunday.
Residents from North
Carolina to New England sandbagged low lying areas, secured and
fortified homes and buildings, and packed stores to stock up on bottled
water, food, and batteries in anticipation of widespread power outages.
Several states declared
emergencies and accelerated storm preparations. New Jersey was the first
to announce mandatory evacuations.
"We have to prepare for the worst here," Gov. Chris Christie said.
The state's barrier
islands from Sandy Hook south to Cape May must be cleared out by Sunday
afternoon. Those at Atlantic City casinos also must leave by then.
The biggest threat
scenario involves the hurricane colliding with a cold front from the
West, creating a "superstorm" that could stall over the Eastern seaboard
for days. Residents have been asked to prepare for the possibility of a
week or more without power.
CNN Weather estimates
that damage from Sandy could reach $3.2 billion. This estimate is based
only on wind damage and does not include flooding.
The District of
Columbia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia New Jersey, North Carolina
and New York have declared states of emergency, while Maine's governor
signed a limited emergency declaration. Delaware's governor has said the
state will issue a mandatory evacuation of its coastline, if the storm
stays on path.
Sandy will be studied
for years to come, said Louis Uccellini, who is responsible for
environmental prediction at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration.
How is Sandy expected to develop?
Weather forecasters
still predict it will push in a large storm surge as it nears land,
inundate a broad, highly populated region with rain and impact utility
service.
"Forget about the
category with this," said CNN meteorologist Rob Marciano. "When you have
trees with leaves on them still, this kind of wind and rain on top of
that, you're talking about trees that are going to come down, power
lines are going to be out and the coastal flooding situation is going to
be huge."
