murd0c | 10-29-2012 07:42 AM | Superstorm Sandy bears down on US East Coast Really surprised no thread has been made yet about this crazy ass hurriance thats hitting NYC today. Superstorm bears down on US East Coast - News1130 Quote:
NEW YORK, NY (NEWS1130) - Forecasters are warning that the New York City region could face the worst of Hurricane Sandy as it bears down on the US East Coast's largest cities today, forcing the shutdown of financial markets and mass transit, sending coastal residents fleeing and threatening high winds, rain and a wall of water up to 3.35 metres tall. It could endanger up to 50 million people for days.
Sandy strengthened before dawn this morning and stayed on a predicted path toward New York, Washington, Baltimore and Philadelphia -- putting it on a collision course with two other weather systems that would create a superstorm with the potential for havoc over 1,280 kilometres from the East Coast to the Great Lakes.
Up to 0.9 metres of snow were even forecast for mountainous parts of West Virginia.
The centre of the storm was positioned to come ashore tonight in New Jersey, meaning the worst of the surge could be in the northern part of that state and in New York City and on Long Island. Higher tides brought by a full moon compounded the threat to the metropolitan area of about 20 million people.
Glenn Schuck with 1010WINS in New York City has been in a beachfront area of Queens all morning. He tells News1130 that no one is leaving, despite pleas from Mayor Michael Bloomberg to find higher ground.
"Just to give you an example, they brought out 10 full buses that could have probably held about 500 people and about eight have used them to evacuate. People are still sitting out here taking pictures," he explains.
Schuck adds people are getting the message, he says they just think they can handle whatever Sandy throws at them.
The grounding of thousands of flights in the Northeast due to the big storm is affecting air travel worldwide.
Airlines are cancelling flights in and out of New York area airports. The disruptions have spread to Europe and Asia, where some travellers could be stranded for days.
President Barack Obama declared emergencies in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, authorizing federal relief work to begin well ahead of time. He promised the government would "respond big and respond fast" after the storm hits.
Obama also cancelled a campaign appearance in Florida to stay in Washington and monitor the storm, with Election Day just a week away.
Major US financial markets, including the New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq and CME Group in Chicago, planned a rare shutdown today. The United Nations also shut down.
Sandy is being blamed for 65 deaths in the Caribbean before it began travelling northward, parallel to the Eastern Seaboard.
HMS Bounty crew forced to abandon ship
The US Coast Guard has rescued 14 members of the crew forced to abandon the tall ship HMS Bounty caught in Hurricane Sandy off North Carolina. The Coast Guard is searching for two other crew members.
It has also 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 helicopters about 6:30 a.m. ET today.
The director of the HMS Bounty Organization, Tracie Simonin, says the ship left Connecticut last week for Florida. She said the crew had been in constant contact with the National Hurricane Center and tried to go around the storm.
GTA braces for Sandy
The Greater Toronto Area is bracing for the major storm and a wind warning has been issued for the Toronto area and a large part of southern Ontario as Hurricane Sandy approaches.
Severe winds of 60 gusting up to 100 km/h are expected to start tonight.
Flights heading into and out of Toronto's Pearson Airport to areas in the US expected to be hit by the storm have been cancelled or delayed. Air Canada and Porter Airlines have cancelled hundreds of flights heading to Philadelphia, Washington, New York and Boston ahead of the storm.
Travelers are being advised to check the status of their flight ahead of time.
YVR flights affected
The hurricane is having an impact here in Vancouver as well, especially if you're planning on catching at flight out east.
"Because there's a wind warning in effect for Toronto right now, flights coming from Toronto and if they stop anywhere through Winnipeg, Regina, Edmonton or Calgary, those are also being affect and they will be for the rest of the day," notes Lara Fominoff with Breakfast Television on Citytv who is at YVR.
The delays and cancellations are expected to continue through tomorrow.
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