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19 March 2024

Massive storm Sandy crashes ashore in New Jersey

Published
By Agencies

Hurricane Sandy, which could become the largest storm ever to hit the United States, is set to bring much of the East Coast, including New York and Washington, to a virtual standstill in the next few days with battering winds, flooding and the risk of widespread power outages.

About 50 million people are in the path of the massive storm, which has already killed 66 people in the Caribbean and is expected to hit the US Eastern Seaboard on Tuesday morning.

While the storm does not pack the punch of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans in 2005, forecasters said it could be the largest in size when it strikes land. At the moment, Sandy's winds stretched some 520 miles and churned up 12-foot (3.6-meter) seas spanning more than 1,000 miles, meteorologists said.

New York and other cities and towns closed their transit systems and schools and ordered residents of low-lying areas to evacuate before a storm surge that could reach as high as 11 feet.

Presidential race off course

Sandy also blew the presidential race off course, forcing President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney to cancel some campaign stops. It fueled fears that the storm could disrupt early voting before the November 6 election.

Flights cancelled 

Airlines cancelled thousands of flights into and from airports along the US east coast ahead of the arrival of a major storm, officials said Sunday.

Air France and other European airlines cancelled all flights into New York and Washington on Monday while US airlines called off thousands of domestic flights and moved planes away from east coast airports away from the path of Hurricane Sandy.

New York airports stayed open Sunday but the airport authority warned passengers there will be major disruption in the next two days.

According to the online aviation tracking service, flightaware.com more than 3,000 flights have already been cancelled because of the storm and worse was expected.

It said more than 700 domestic and international flights were called off Sunday with Newark airport in New York's New Jersey suburbs worst hit. Newark, a hub for United airlines, had more than 265 flights cancelled on Sunday while the weather was still relatively calm.

Flightaware noted the closure of mass transit systems and the need for staff to be home to prepare for the storm was a factor in early flight disruptions.

The site said 2,500 international and domestic flights on Monday had already been cancelled. Newark had called off 774 flights, Washington's Dulles airport 428 and Philadelphia airport 355 flights.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs the region's major John F. Kennedy, La Guardia and Newark airports have warned there will be "significant disruption" because of Hurricane Sandy which is expected to hit on Monday.

Air France cancelled all flights into New York and Washington on Monday while US airlines have called off hundreds of domestic flights. New York airports were to stay open on Sunday but the airport authority warned passengers to expect disruption.

The Obama administration estimated it could affect 50 million people, and the storm was already disrupting transportation systems.

Forecasters said Sandy was a rare, hybrid "super storm" created by an Arctic jet stream wrapping itself around a tropical storm, possibly causing up to 12 inches (30 cm) of rain in some areas, as well as heavy snowfall inland.

"The size of this alone, affecting a heavily populated area, is going to be history making," said Jeff Masters, a hurricane specialist who writes a blog posted on the Weather Underground (www.wunderground.com)

New Jersey casinos were ordered to close. New Jersey officials were weighing whether to shut down that state's bus and rail systems, and emergency officials warned of widespread power outages that could last for days.

"We're just asking people to be patient and be ready for a long haul. But we have a very aggressive power restoration program in place and I think we're ready," Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell told the CNN program "State of the Union."

On its current projected track, Sandy is most likely to make landfall between in the New York/New Jersey area and head inland to Philadelphia and Pennsylvania, forecasters said.

Exceptionally wide storm

Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center in Miami said the storm's impact would be felt far from the center.

While Sandy's 75 mph (120 kph) winds were not overwhelming for a hurricane, its width made it exceptional. Hurricane-force winds extended 175 miles (280 km) from its center while its lesser tropical storm-force winds spanned 1,040 miles (1,670 km) in diameter. It was not expected to strengthen but was expected to broaden.

At high tide, the storm could bring a surge of seawater up to 11 feet (3.4 meters) above normal levels to Long Island Sound and New York Harbor.

"Given the large wind field associated with Sandy, elevated water levels could span multiple tide cycles, resulting in repeated and extended periods of coastal and bayside flooding," the forecasters said.

Sandy was centered about 260 miles (420 km) southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, early on Sunday, the hurricane center said. The storm pushed seawater up over the barrier islands off North Carolina known as the Outer Banks.

"It's flooded all over the village," longtime Ocracoke Island resident Kathleen O'Neal told Reuters via telephone. "I would say between a foot and two feet of water."

Sandy was moving over the Atlantic parallel to the U.S. coast at 10 mph (17 kph), but was forecast to make a tight westward turn toward the U.S. coast on Sunday night.

Tropical storm conditions were spreading across the coast of North Carolina on Sunday morning and gale-force winds are forecast to begin affecting Washington, New York and southern New England by Monday.

Record breaker

Sandy could be the largest storm to hit the United States, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) website.

Sandy killed at least 66 people as it made its way through the Caribbean islands, including 51 in Haiti, mostly from flash flooding and mudslides, according to authorities.

The approaching storm forced a change of plans for both presidential candidates ahead of the Nov. 6 election. The White House said President Barack Obama canceled a campaign appearance in Virginia on Monday and another stop in Colorado on Tuesday, and will instead monitor the storm from Washington.  

Republican challenger Mitt Romney rescheduled campaign events planned for Virginia on Sunday and was flying to Ohio instead.

All along the U.S. coast, worried residents packed stores, buying generators, candles, food and other supplies in anticipation of power outages. Some local governments announced schools would be closed on Monday and Tuesday.

"They're freaking out," said Joe Dautel, a clerk at a hardware store in Glenside, Pennsylvania. "I'm selling people four, five, six packs of batteries - when I had them."