Sandy intensifies; Obama asks people to evacuate

Published October 29, 2012 | 3:05 pm

Arun Kumar

Washington: As a ferocious superstorm threatening 50 million people along the US East Coast gathered strength Monday, President Barack Obama warned affected residents that failure to obey evacuation orders could prove deadly.

“We are certain that this is going to be a slow-moving process through a wide swath of the country, and millions of people are going to be affected,” Obama who has cancelled campaign plans for Monday and Tuesday to monitor Hurricane Sandy, told reporters at the White House.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has pre-positioned supplies and is working closely with state and local officials, he said as Washington region’s entire public transit system serving the national capital and neighbouring states of Virginia and Maryland ceased operation.

Asked about the storm’s effect on the election campaign, Obama said: “I am not worried at this point about the impact on the election. I’m worried about the impact on families, and I’m worried about the impact on our first-responders. I’m worried about the impact on our economy and on transportation. The election will take care of itself next week.”

Packing winds of 90 mph just hours before it is expected to make landfall, the Category 1 hurricane is moving north-northwest at 18 mph, and will soon turn northwestward, the National Hurricane Centre said.

At 11 a.m. (8.30 p.m. India time), the storm was centred about 260 miles south-southeast of New York City. Hurricane-force winds extended up to 175 miles from the storm’s centre, with tropical storm-force winds extended outward up to 485 miles.

Residents and emergency management officials have been keeping a wary eye on the hurricane’s expected path, bracing for the impact in states like Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

Federal offices in Washington and schools, colleges and universities across the region were closed in anticipation of power breakdowns and dangerous road conditions.

In New York City, Mayor Michael Bloomberg ordered the evacuation of more than 370,000 people in low-lying communities from Coney Island in Brooklyn to Battery Park City in Manhattan.

He also declared a two day holiday for some 1.1 million schoolchildren as the city opened evacuation shelters at 76 public schools.

As gale force winds were reported over coastal North Carolina, southeastern Virginia, the Delmarva Peninsula and coastal New Jersey, forecasters said the storm’s centre will make landfall along or just south of the Southern New Jersey coast Monday evening.

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Sandy barrels down towards US East Coast; 50 mn threatened

Washington: A ferocious Hurricane Sandy barreled down towards the US East Coast early Monday, threatening over 50 million people, bringing some of America’s busiest cities to a standstill and disrupting the presidential election campaign.

As of 5 a.m. (2.30 p.m. India time) Monday, the storm dubbed “Frankenstorm” was centred about 385 miles southeast of New York City, moving to the north at 14 mph, with hurricane-force winds extending an incredible 175 miles from its centre.

The National Hurricane Center said early Monday the storm has intensified, with top sustained winds of 85 mph and higher gusts.

Hundreds of thousands were forced from their homes. New York City is at a standstill. Washington, DC, the nation’s capital, is emptied of government workers. And thousands of National Guard troops have been called up, according to various media reports.

The scenes were playing out early Monday from North Carolina to Maine, as forecasters warned that Sandy was likely to collide with a cold front and spawn a “superstorm” that could generate flash floods, snowstorms and massive power outages, CNN reported.

“It could be bad,” US Coast Guard Rear Admiral Steven Rattior was quoted as saying, “or it could be devastation”.

The Washington region’s entire public transit system – Metro, Virginia Railway Express and the Maryland Transportation System – ceased operations Monday, leaving residents to either drive themselves to work or stay home.

Schools, colleges and universities shut their doors, in anticipation of power breakdowns and dangerous road conditions, and some announced they would be closed Tuesday and Wednesday as well.

Sandy strengthened before dawn and stayed on its predicted path toward Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York.

In New York, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg ordered the evacuation of more than 370,000 people in low-lying communities from Coney Island and Lower Manhattan, and authorities shut down the city’s schools and its subway system, effectively bringing the nation’s largest city to a near halt.

With 1.1 million schoolchildren given a day off Monday, New York city opened evacuation shelters at 76 public schools.

Even the New York Stock Exchange said it would close floor trading on Monday and move to an electronic-only system and major airlines cancelled thousands of flights in the northeast.

The United Nations cancelled all meetings at its headquarters in Manhattan as the hurricane centre said the surges could reach 11 feet in New York Harbour, Long Island Sound and Raritan Bay in New Jersey.

President Barack Obama, who had Sunday declared emergencies in several states, including Maryland, Virginia and New Jersey, as well as the capital city, cancelled plans to campaign in Florida, returning to Washington to oversee the hurricane response.

He also met officials at the headquarters of the Federal Emergency Management Agency in Washington and spoke on a conference call with governors and mayors from as far south as North Carolina, as far north as New England and as far west as Ohio.

–Indo-Asian News Service

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