Επανέρχεται σιγά-σιγά η Νέα Υόρκη – Hurricane Sandy Megastorm: How To Help

 

 

Οι αμερικανικές ομοσπονδιακές υπηρεσίες στην Ουάσινγκτον θα λειτουργήσουν σήμερα, Τετάρτη, μετά το κλείσιμο των υπηρεσιών της ομοσπονδιακής κυβέρνησης των ΗΠΑ για δύο μέρες λόγω του κυκλώνα Σάντι… Το Αμερικανικό Γραφείο Διαχείρισης Προσωπικού ανακοίνωσε επίσης ότι οι υπάλληλοι της ομοσπονδιακής κυβέρνησης στην Ουάσινγκτον θα έχουν την επιλογή να πάρουν αύριο μη προγραμματισμένη άδεια. Την ίδια ώρα και το Χρηματιστήριο της Νέας Υόρκης θα ανοίξει και θα λειτουργήσει κανονικά αύριο, ανακοίνωσαν σήμερα οι αρμόδιες αρχές στην πόλη της Νέας Υόρκης, έπειτα από το κλείσιμο της Wall Street για δύο μέρες λόγω του κυκλώνα. Ο εκπρόσωπος του Χρηματιστηρίου της Νέας Υόρκης Ρόμπερτ Ρέντιν δήλωσε ότι ο όροφος στον οποίο γίνονται οι συναλλαγές και το κτίριο δεν έχουν υποστεί ζημιές από τον κυκλώνα.

Τα διεθνή αεροδρόμια JFK και Νιούαρκ, δύο από τους τρεις βασικούς αεροπορικούς κόμβους της Νέας Υόρκης και του Νιου Τζέρσεϊ, θα επαναλειτουργήσουν απο σήμερα το πρωί, αλλά με περιορισμένες υπηρεσίες, ανακοίνωσαν οι αερολιμενικές αρχές, χτες. Το τρίτο αεροδρόμιο, το Λα Γκουάρντια θα παραμένει κλειστό, αναφέρει επίσης η ανακοίνωση της διεύθυνσης αερολιμένων, που αναρτήθηκε στην ιστοσελίδα της. Τα τρία αεροδρόμια, που κατά μέσο όρο εξυπηρετούν 300.000 επιβάτες σε καθημερινή βάση, έκλεισαν εξ αιτίας της σούπερ καταιγίδας Σάντι, που σάρωσε την περιοχή της βορειοανατολικής ακτής των Ηνωμένων Πολιτειών, τη Δευτέρα.

 

Ο Μπαράκ Ομπάμα θα επισκεφθεί σήμερα τις πληγείσες περιοχές

 

Ο Αμερικανός πρόεδρος Μπαράκ Ομπάμα θα μεταβεί σήμερα στο Νιου Τζέρσεϊ, μία από τις περισσότερο πληγείσες πολιτείες των ανατολικών ΗΠΑ από το πέρασμα του κυκλώνα Σάντυ, ανακοίνωσε χτες ο Λευκός Οίκος.

“Αύριο (σημ. σήμερα) το απόγευμα, ο πρόεδρος θα ταξιδέψει στο Νιου Τζέρσεϊ όπου θα συναντήσει τον κυβερνήτη (Κρις) Κρίστι για να επιθεωρήσει τις ζημιές από τον κυκλώνα, να μιλήσει με τους κατοίκους (…) και να ευχαριστήσει τα μέλη των υπηρεσιών αντιμετώπισης εκτάκτων καταστάσεων, οι οποίοι διακινδύνευσαν τη ζωή τους”, διευκρίνισε ο εκπρόσωπος του Λευκού Οίκου, Τζέι Κάρνεϊ.

Λίγα λεπτά νωρίτερα ο πρόεδρος Ομπάμα είχε μεταβεί στην έδρα του Ερυθρού Σταυρού στην Ουάσινγκτον όπου είχε υπογραμμίσει ότι εξακολουθούν να υπάρχουν κίνδυνοι, καθώς “ο κυκλώνας δεν έχει ακόμη τελειώσει”.

“Εξακολουθεί να κινείται βόρεια”, σημείωσε. “Υπάρχουν ακόμη κοινότητες που μπορεί να επηρεαστούν. Επομένως θέλω να δώσω έμφαση στο γεγονός ότι εξακολουθεί να υπάρχει ο κίνδυνος πρόκλησης πλημμύρων, εξακολουθεί να υπάρχει κίνδυνος να πέσουν οι γραμμές ηλεκτροδότησης, κίνδυνοι για πολύ δυνατούς ανέμους”, πρόσθεσε.

Ο Αμερικανός πρόεδρος σημείωσε εξάλλου ότι η ομοσπονδιακή κυβέρνηση θα κάνει ότι μπορεί για να βοηθήσει τις τοπικές αρχές να αντιμετωπίσουν τις ζημιές που προκάλεσε ο κυκλώνας.

 

Η συνέντευξη τύπου του δημάρχου της Νέας Υόρκης Μάικλ Μπλούμπεργκ

 

Ο κυκλώνας Σάντυ προκάλεσε το θάνατο τουλάχιστον 18 ανθρώπων στη Νέα Υόρκη, δήλωσε χθες το βράδυ σε συνέντευξη Τύπου ο δήμαρχος της πόλης Μάικλ Μπλούμπεργκ.

Προηγούμενος απολογισμός έκανε λόγο για 10 νεκρούς στη Νέα Υόρκη. Ωστόσο στη συνέχεια βρέθηκαν κι άλλα πτώματα σε πλημμυρισμένες συνοικίες.

Παράλληλα η εξειδικευμένη ιστοσελίδα Flightaware.com έγραφε χθες ότι λόγω του κυκλώνα ακυρώθηκαν συνολικά 15.773 πτήσεις από ή προς την ανατολική ακτή των ΗΠΑ.

Τα περισσότερα αεροδρόμια της Νέας Υόρκης, συμπεριλαμβανομένων των JFK, Λα Γκουάρντια και Νιούαρκ ήταν κλειστά χτες καθηλώνοντας τα αεροσκάφη και προκαλώντας προβλήματα στις μετακινήσεις χιλιάδων επιβατών.

Το διεθνές αεροδρόμιο της αμερικανικής μεγαλούπολης JFK αναμένεται να επαναλειτουργήσει σήμερα, ενώ η επαναλειτουργία του αεροδρομίου Λα Γκουάρντια και του Νιούαρκ δεν έχει ακόμη ανακοινωθεί.

Περίπου 1.300 πτήσεις ακυρώθηκαν την Κυριακή από και προς τις Ηνωμένες Πολιτείες και άλλες 7791 την Δευτέρα. Χτες, σύμφωνα με τις τελευταίες διαθέσιμες πληροφορίες ακυρώθηκαν άλλες 6.047 πτήσεις.

Ο τυφώνας Σάντυ “χτύπησε” τον Καναδά και την ανατολική ακτή των Η.Π.Α., αφήνοντας πίσω του σε Νέα Υόρκη, Νιου Τζέρσεϊ και Βόρεια Καρολίνα εικόνες βιβλικής καταστροφής, ανυπολόγιστες ζημιές και 94 -μέχρι στιγμής- νεκρούς.
Να σημειωθεί ότι Αμερικανοί ειδικοί την περιγράφουν ως “την τέλεια καταιγίδα” με 800 μίλια ακτίνα, πολύ σπάνιο φαινόμενο. Ο τυφώνας Σάντυ αναμένεται μάλιστα να συναντήσει στο πέρασμά του δύο χειμερινές καταιγίδες. Δείτε εδώ όλες τις ειδήσεις για την τροπική καταιγίδα που σαρώνει τη Νέα Υόρκη.
Υπενθυμίζουμε ότι δύο πυρηνικοί αντιδραστήρες έχουν ήδη τεθεί εκτός λειτουργίας στα ανατολικά της χώρας, εξαιτίας της κακοκαιρίας και των ζημιών που έχει προκαλέσει στην περιοχή ο Σάντυ, όπως ανακοινώθηκε σήμερα από την ιδιοκτήτρια εταιρεία τους. Με έδρα το Χάνκοκς Μπριτζ του Νιου Τζέρσεϊ, στις όχθες του ποταμού Ντέλαγουερ, ο αντιδραστήρας Σάλεμ 1 αναγκάστηκε να κλείσει όταν τέσσερις από τις έξι αντλίες για την κυκλοφορία του νερού σταμάτησαν να λειτουργούν, ανακοίνωσε η εταιρεία Public Service Electric and Gas (PSEG), προσθέτοντας πως ένας γειτονικός αντιδραστήρας στο Χόουπ Κρικ λειτουργεί κανονικά.

Ένας τρίτος αντιδραστήρας, ο Ίντιαν Πόιντ 3, σε απόσταση 50 χλμ. από τη Νέα Υόρκη, στις όχθες του ποταμού Χάντσον, ετέθη εκτός λειτουργίας στη διάρκεια της νύκτας, «εξαιτίας προβλημάτων το εξωτερικό ηλεκτρικό δίκτυο», όπως ανακοίνωσε η διαχειρίστρια εταιρεία Entergy, αλλά σύμφωνα με την ίδια δεν υπάρχει «κανένας κίνδυνος για το κοινό», ή τους εργαζομένους.
Συνολικά, ο κυκλώνας Σάντυ προκάλεσε την επιβράδυνση ή την πλήρη αναστολή της λειτουργίας σε περίπου έξι πυρηνικούς σταθμούς παραγωγής ηλεκτρικής ενέργειας, ενώ ο γηραιότερος αντιδραστήρας της χώρας έχει τεθεί σε κατάσταση «συναγερμού», μετά την άνοδο της στάθμης των πλημμυρικών υδάτων, σε βαθμό που να απειλούν το σύστημα ψύξης του.  Η μονάδα του Όιστερ Κρικ της εταιρείας Exelon Corp, ηλικίας 43 ετών, παραμένει σε κατάσταση «συναγερμού», ανακοίνωσε σήμερα το πρωΐ η Αμερικανική Ρυθμιστική Αρχή Πυρηνικών (NRC), καθώς τα περιβάλλοντα ύδατα ανήλθαν 2 μέτρα πάνω από την κανονική τους στάθμη, απειλώντας την «υποδομή απορρόφησης ύδατος» που αντλεί νερό για την ψύξη στον πυρηνικό σταθμό.

 FROM huffingtonpost.com

Superstorm Sandy has claimed 33 lives and left millions of people from Maine to the Carolinas without electricity, the Associated Press reports.

The full impact of the storm is still unknown, but the mounting devastation is visible across the East Coast. A huge fire destroyed as many as 100 homes in Queens on Tuesday and New York University hospital evacuated 200 patients after a backup generator failed. First responders are working tirelessly in their search and rescue operations and aid organizations are helping those in need of food, shelter and security.

“I just tell them that we’re all in this together and we’re going to get through it,” said American Red Cross volunteer Sue Marticek who is managing a shelter with more than 340 residents in New Jersey. “The Red Cross name and presence goes far.”

See how aid organizations are stepping in, and what you can do to help. This is a developing list.

HOW YOU CAN HELP:

Red Cross The Red Cross has started a preventative campaign in Haiti, using SMS and sound trucks to provide early warning messages. Emergency response teams are also in place, ready to hand out relief supplies for up to 11,000 families. In the United States, the Red Cross has released an app that allows users to track the impending storm, receive weather alerts, directions to the nearest shelter, tools like a flashlight, strobe light, alarm, and even a one-touch “I’m Safe” button that  uses social media to let family and friends know you’re safe. Learn more here.

The Salvation Army The Salvation Army has set up feeding operations in shelters along the East Coast and has stocked dozens of mobile feeding units, which the organization will deploy to heavily impacted areas once it is safe to do. In addition to providing thousands of meals, the nonprofit is also prepared to provide clean-up kits, hygiene kits, shower units, first-aid supplies and communications support. Donors may contribute $10 by text messaging the word STORM to 80888, and confirming the donation with the word, “Yes.” Learn more here.

NYC Service Mayor Bloomberg has activated the hurricane shelter system in New York and will be in need of trained volunteers. Help volunteers at evacuation shelters and after the storm. To learn more, email nycservice@cityhall.nyc.gov.

World Vision World Vision, a Christian humanitarian relief organization, is bringing necessary supplies, including food kits, hygiene kits, blankets and tarps, to those in need in New York City. Learn more here.

New York Blood Center The New York Blood Center is calling for donations to prevent any shortages after the storm hits. The organization is working with local hospitals to make sure it have adequate supply. The center needs at least 2,000 donations a day to maintain the center’s blood inventory. Learn more here.

AmeriCares AmeriCares is preparing to deliver relief supplies like medicine, first aid kits, cleaning products and flashlights to susceptible communities along the East Coast. It has reached out to 100 health clinics, food banks and other agencies and also have aid workers ready to help. In Haiti, the organization has already provided 300 family emergency kits and are prepared to deliver water, sanitation treatment, and medical supplies if need be. Learn more here.

Feeding America As Hurricane Sandy hits the eastern seaboard, the Feeding America network of food banks and agencies is prepared to deliver truckloads of food, water and supplies to communities in need, through its network of more than 200 food banks and the agencies it serves. Its food banks will also set up additional emergency distribution sites as they are needed. It is anticipated that roughly 25-30 food banks will be impacted by this storm. In times of disaster, Feeding America supports immediate and long-term recovery for individuals and families in need of food assistance. Learn more here.

Operation USA The Los Angeles-based international relief agency will provide emergency aid to Cuba and Haiti in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. Operation USA will provide access to safe water and support for clinics and hospitals and assess shelter, safe water, food and other needs. Learn more here or donate by phone at 1.800.678.7255, by check made out to Operation USA, 7421 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036. Text AID to 50555 and donate $10 to Operation USA’s disaster relief efforts.

Direct Relief Direct Relief has placed seven hurricane preparedness packs in the Caribbean, each containing medicine and supplies to treat a variety of traumatic and chronic conditions that can support 5,000 people for a month. Packs have also been placed along the U.S. East Coast including 300 clinical partners along the storm’s projected path. Direct Relief works with 70 countries to provide disaster relief and preparedness during the most critical hours after a natural disaster. Learn more here.

Save The Children Save The Children provides child-friendly space kits, including diapers and hygiene items. The organization also maintains a U.S. Emergencies Fund, that allow for disaster planning, emergency preparedness, response and recovery work and psychological support. Save the Children says it’s committed to the same level of support for the impending storm. Learn more here.

Team Rubicon Team Rubicon, which utilizes the skills of military veterans to assist in responding to and recovering from natural disasters, has teams of highly skilled military veterans working with local authorities preparing to respond to the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in communities from Washington, D.C., to Boston. In New York City, Team Rubicon veterans are assisting the city’s mobile assessment teams as well as coordinating joint operations in the city’s Emergency Operations Center. This not only provides a skilled and motivated work force, but provides a new mission for America’s veterans, allowing them to continue to serve here at home and abroad. Learn more here.

International Medical Corps With Haiti under a state of emergency, the International Medical Corps has teams in place with emergency kits, fuel and flashlights and mobile medical units on standby. In 2010 the International Medical Corps had teams on the ground treating within 22 hours after the earthquake. Since then it has established cholera treatment, primary health care, water and sanitation, and disaster preparedness programs. Learn more here.

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  • People in New York’s Tribeca neighborhood, without power because of superstorm Sandy, wait for a chance to charge their mobile phones on an available generator setup on a sidewalk, Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012.  Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
  • People take photos at water filling the Bowling Green subway station in Battery Park in New York on October 30, 2012 as New Yorkers cope with the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. The storm left large parts of New York City without power and transportation. TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images

  • North Carolina 12 is buckled from pounding surf leading into Mirlo Beach in Rodanthe, N.C. on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012. People on North Carolina’s Outer Banks are facing some flooding and damage from Hurricane Sandy, but emergency management officials say it could have been worse. North Carolina Transportation Department spokeswoman Greer Beaty said the highway was closed Tuesday until crews inspect the road. (AP Photo/The Virginian-Pilot, Steve Earley)

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  • Foundations and pilings are all that remain of brick buildings and a boardwalk in Atlantic City, N.J., Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, after they were destroyed when a powerful storm that started out as Hurricane Sandy made landfall on the East Coast on Monday night. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

  • FARMINGDALE, NY – OCTOBER 30: Timothy Henggeler, Logistics Specialist with FEMA speaks with New York guard members at Republic Airport in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy on October 30, 2012 in Farmingdale, New York. The storm has claimed at least a few dozen lives in the United States, and has caused massive flooding across much of the Atlantic seaboard. U.S. President Barack Obama has declared the situation a ‘major disaster’ for large areas of the U.S. east coast, including New York City.  (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

  • Breezy Point, N.Y.

    A firefighter works to contain a fire that destroyed over 50 homes during Hurricane Sandy on Oct. 30, 2012 in the Breezy Point neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York. At least 33 people were reported killed in the United States by Sandy as millions of people in the eastern United States have awoken to widespread power outages, flooded homes and downed trees. New York City was hit especially hard with wide spread power outages and significant flooding in parts of the city.  (Spencer Platt, Getty Images)

  • Pleasure boats pile up 30 yards or more from the water’s edge in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, in the Cliffwood Beach section of Aberdeen, N.J. The storm’s high winds and the high astronomical tide paired up to rip the boats away from their dock and deposit them on shore. (AP Photo/Peter Hermann, III)

  • A parking lot full of yellow cabs is flooded as a result of superstorm Sandy on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012 in Hoboken, NJ. (AP Photo/Charles Sykes)

  • East Coast Begins To Clean Up And Assess Damage From Hurricane Sandy

    OCEAN CITY, NJ – OCTOBER 30: Residents survey the damage after Hurricane Sandy on October 30, 2012 in Ocean City, New Jersey. Sandy made landfall last night on the New Jersey coastline bringing heavy winds and record floodwaters. At least two dozen people were reported killed in the United States as millions of people in the eastern United States are experiencing widespread power outages, flooded homes and downed trees. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

  • Jason Locke sweeps water and mud from his parents’ home in Westport, Mass., Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012. Many homeowners who suffered losses because of flooding from Hurricane Sandy are likely to find themselves out of luck. Standard homeowners policies don’t cover flooding damage, and the vast majority of homeowners don’t have flood insurance.Yet it’s likely that many Northeasterners will purchase it in coming months, hoping they’ll be covered the next time around, at a cost averaging around $600 a year. (AP Photo/The Standard Times, Peter Pereira)

  • The tailend of a SUV is perched on top of a postal mailbox in the aftermath of floods from Hurricane Sandy on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, in Coney Island, N.Y. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

  • HUNTINGTON, NY – OCTOBER 30: Power lines rest at a 45 degree angle on Clinton Avenue in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy on October 30, 2012 in Huntington, New York. The storm has claimed at least a few dozen lives in the United States, and has caused massive flooding across much of the Atlantic seaboard. U.S. President Barack Obama has declared the situation a ‘major disaster’ for large areas of the U.S. east coast, including New York City.  (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

  • A flood damaged vehicle is surrounded by debris in Mirlo Beach in Rodanthe, N.C. on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012. People on North Carolina’s Outer Banks are facing some flooding and damage from Hurricane Sandy, but emergency management officials say it could have been worse. (AP Photo/The Virginian-Pilot, Steve Earley)

  • A police officer watch as a passerby look into a store through a damaged security grate, in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, on Mermaid Avenue in Coney Island, N.Y. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses.(AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

  • HUNTINGTON STATION, NY – OCTOBER 30:  A sporting goods and camping store displays it’s message to residents in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy on October 30, 2012 in Huntington Station, New York. The storm has claimed at least a few dozen lives in the United States, and has caused massive flooding across much of the Atlantic seaboard. U.S. President Barack Obama has declared the situation a ‘major disaster’ for large areas of the U.S. east coast, including New York City.  (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

  • Nicholas Rodriguez looks over a section of the destroyed boardwalk in Atlantic City, N.J., Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, not far from where a powerful storm that started out as Hurricane Sandy made landfall the night before. Millions of people from Maine to the Carolinas awoke Tuesday without electricity, but the full extent of the damage in New Jersey, where the storm roared ashore Monday night with hurricane force, was unclear. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

  • People walk on North Carolina 12 away from the buckling of the highway, pounded by surf, leading into Mirlo Beach in Rodanthe, N.C. on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012. People on North Carolina’s Outer Banks are facing some flooding and damage from Hurricane Sandy, but emergency management officials say it could have been worse. North Carolina Transportation Department spokeswoman Greer Beaty said the highway was closed Tuesday until crews inspect the road. (AP Photo/The Virginian-Pilot, Steve Earley)

  • A huge tree split apart and fell over the front yard and fence of a home on Carpenter Avenue in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy on Tuesday, Oct., 30, 2012, in Sea Cliff, N.Y. (AP Photo/Kathy Kmonicek)

  • Little Ferry, N.J.

    Olivia Loesner, 16, hugs her uncle, Little Ferry Deputy Fire Chief John Ruff, after she was brought from her flooded home in a boat in Little Ferry, N.J., Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, in the wake of superstorm Sandy. At right carrying pets, is her mother, Janice Loesner. (Craig Ruttle, AP)

  • Ocean City, M.D.

    A National Guard humvee travels through high water to check the area after the effects of Hurricane Sandy Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, in Ocean City, Md.  Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses. (Alex Brandon, AP)

  • Cleveland, Ohio

    Waves pound a lighthouse on the shores of Lake Erie Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, near Cleveland. High winds spinning off the edge of superstorm Sandy took a vicious swipe at northeast Ohio early Tuesday, uprooting trees, cutting power to hundreds of thousands, closing schools and flooding parts of major commuter arteries that run along Lake Erie. (Tony Dejak, AP)

  • OCEAN CITY, NJ – OCTOBER 30:  Streets remain flooded after Hurricane Sandy on October 30, 2012 in Ocean City, New Jersey. Sandy made landfall last night on the New Jersey coastline bringing heavy winds and record floodwaters. At least two dozen people were reported killed in the United States as millions of people in the eastern United States are experiencing widespread power outages, flooded homes and downed trees. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

  • A log rests on a vehicle damaged by superstorm Sandy at Breezy Point in the New York City borough of Queens, Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, in New York. The fire destroyed between 80 and 100 houses Monday night in the flooded neighborhood. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

  • OCEAN CITY, MD – OCTOBER 30:  People participate in metal detecting at the beach after Hurricane Sandy hit the region October 30, 2012 in Ocean City, Maryland. The storm has claimed at least 33 lives in the United States, and has caused massive flooding across much of the Atlantic seaboard. U.S. President Barack Obama has declared the situation a ‘major disaster’ for large areas of the U.S. east coast, including New York City, with widespread power outages and significant flooding in parts of the city.  (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

  • FARMINGDALE, NY – OCTOBER 30: (L-R) Mike Cassidy and Warren Connolly work to clear trees from Secatouge Avenue in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy on October 30, 2012 in Farmingdale, New York. The storm has claimed at least a few dozen lives in the United States, and has caused massive flooding across much of the Atlantic seaboard. U.S. President Barack Obama has declared the situation a ‘major disaster’ for large areas of the U.S. east coast, including New York City.  (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

  • East Coast Begins To Clean Up And Assess Damage From Hurricane Sandy

    PLAINVIEW, NY – OCTOBER 30:  Motorists wind their way up Manetto Hill Road in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy on October 30, 2012 in Plainview, New York. The storm has claimed at least a few dozen lives in the United States, and has caused massive flooding across much of the Atlantic seaboard. U.S. President Barack Obama has declared the situation a ‘major disaster’ for large areas of the U.S. east coast, including New York City.  (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

  • East Coast Begins To Clean Up And Assess Damage From Hurricane Sandy

    OCEAN CITY, NJ – OCTOBER 30: A picnic table sits on a sand covered road after Hurricane Sandy on October 30, 2012 in Ocean City, New Jersey. Sandy made landfall last night on the New Jersey coastline bringing heavy winds and record floodwaters. At least two dozen people were reported killed in the United States as millions of people in the eastern United States are experiencing widespread power outages, flooded homes and downed trees. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

  • Two women shop for groceries by flashlight in the Tribeca neighborhood of New York, Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012. ConEd cut power Moday to some neighborhoods served by underground lines as the advancing storm surge from Hurricane Sandy threatened to flood substations. Floodwaters later led to explosions that disabled a substation in Lower Manhattan, cutting power tens of thousands of customers south of 39th Street. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

  • Ground Zero Floods

    Sea water floods the Ground Zero construction site, Monday, Oct. 29, 2012, in New York. Sandy continued on its path Monday, as the storm forced the shutdown of mass transit, schools and financial markets, sending coastal residents fleeing, and threatening a dangerous mix of high winds and soaking rain.  (AP Photo/ John Minchillo)

  • LONG BEACH, NY – OCTOBER 30:  Residents walk on a street covered in beach sand due to flooding from Hurricane Sandy on October 30, 2012 in Long Beach, New York. The storm has claimed at least 33 lives in the United States, and has caused massive flooding across much of the Atlantic seaboard. U.S. President Barack Obama has declared the situation a ‘major disaster’ for large areas of the U.S. east coast, including New York City, with widespread power outages and significant flooding in parts of the city.  (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)

  • A man looks down at water filling the Bowling Green subway station in Battery Park in New York on October 30, 2012 as New Yorkers cope with the aftermath  of Hurricane Sandy. The storm left large parts of New York City without power and transportation. TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images

  • LONG BEACH, NY – OCTOBER 30:  A section of an old boardwalk is seen destroyed by flooding from Hurricane Sandy on October 30, 2012 in Long Beach, New York. The storm has claimed at least 33 lives in the United States, and has caused massive flooding across much of the Atlantic seaboard. U.S. President Barack Obama has declared the situation a ‘major disaster’ for large areas of the U.S. east coast, including New York City, with widespread power outages and significant flooding in parts of the city.  (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)

  • Ocean City, M.D.

    Michael Brown, left, and Enos Jones, with Ocean City, fill a truck with debris as they clean the boardwalk after the effects of Hurricane Sandy Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, in Ocean City, Md. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses.(Alex Brandon, AP)

  • A man cleans up the remains of his food store damaged by Hurricane Sandy, in New York’s South Street Seaport, Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012. New York City awakened Tuesday to a flooded subway system, shuttered financial markets and hundreds of thousands of people without power a day after a wall of seawater and high winds slammed into the city, destroying buildings and flooding tunnels. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

  • Members of the Saint Joseph’s University crew team pull a damaged boat from the Schuylkill river in the wake of superstorm Sandy, Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, in Philadelphia. A one-two punch of rain and high wind from a monster hybrid storm that started out as a hurricane battered Pennsylvania, leaving more than a million customers without power as officials began assessing the damage Tuesday. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

  • Workers clear debris outside the Consolidated Edison power sub-station on 14th Street, Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, in New York. Hurricane Sandy marched slowly inland, leaving millions without power or mass transit, with huge swatches 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 (AP Photo/ John Minchillo)

  • Belington, W.Va.

    An ambulance is stuck in over a foot of snow off of Highway 33 West, near Belington, W.Va. on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, in Belington, W.Va. Superstorm Sandy buried parts of West Virginia under more than a foot of snow on Tuesday, cutting power to at least 264,000 customers and closing dozens of roads. At least one death was reported. The storm not only hit higher elevations hard as predicted, communities in lower elevations got much more than the dusting of snow forecasters had first thought from a dangerous system that also brought significant rainfall, high wind gusts and small-stream flooding. (Robert Ray, AP)

  • North Carolina 12 is buckled from pounding surf leading into Mirlo Beach in Rodanthe, N.C. on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012. People on North Carolina’s Outer Banks are facing some flooding and damage from Hurricane Sandy, but emergency management officials say it could have been worse. North Carolina Transportation Department spokeswoman Greer Beaty said the highway was closed Tuesday until crews inspect the road. (AP Photo/The Virginian-Pilot, Steve Earley)

  • Carol Mason mops her flooded floor with towels after returning to her home in Atlantic City, N.J., Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012. Many homeowners who suffered losses because of flooding from Hurricane Sandy are likely to find themselves out of luck. Standard homeowners policies don’t cover flooding damage, and the vast majority of homeowners don’t have flood insurance. Yet it’s likely that many Northeasterners will purchase it in coming months, hoping they’ll be covered the next time around, at a cost averaging around $600 a year. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

  • A street and business are flooded as a result of Hurricane Sandy on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012 in Hoboken, NJ. (AP Photo/Charles Sykes)

  • A house is inundated by flood water as Hurricane Sandy approaches, Monday, Oct. 29, 2012, in Center Moriches, N.Y. Many homeowners who suffered losses because of flooding from Hurricane Sandy are likely to find themselves out of luck. Standard homeowners policies don’t cover flooding damage, and the vast majority of homeowners don’t have flood insurance. Yet it’s likely that many Northeasterners will purchase it in coming months, hoping they’ll be covered the next time around, at a cost averaging around $600 a year. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)

  • Lower Manhattan Goes Dark

    Lower Manhattan goes dark during superstorm Sandy, on Monday, Oct. 29, 2012, as seen from the Brooklyn Heights promenade in the Brooklyn borough of New York. One World Trade Center, background center, remains brightly lit. Sandy continued on its path Monday, as the storm forced the shutdown of mass transit, schools and financial markets, sending coastal residents fleeing, and threatening a dangerous mix of high winds and soaking rain.  (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

  • The space shuttle Enterprise is draped with cloth that had protected it before Superstorm Sandy passed though, leaving the spacecraft shrouded on the deck of the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, at its dock on the Hudson River in New York, Tuesday, Oct, 30, 2012. Sandy, the storm which was downgraded from a hurricane just before making landfall, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)

  • Onlookers take photographs of two cars that collided during flooding outside the Consolidated Edison power sub-station on 14th Street, Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, in New York. Hurricane Sandy marched slowly inland, leaving millions without power or mass transit, with huge swatches 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 (AP Photo/ John Minchillo)

  • NYU Tisch Hospital Evacuated

    Medical workers assist a patient into an ambulance during an evacuation of New York University’s Tisch Hospital, Monday, Oct. 29, 2012, in New York. The New York City hospital is moving out more than 200 patients after its backup generator failed when the power was knocked out by a superstorm. (AP Photo/ John Minchillo)

  • Sveinn Storm pumps water out of his flooded Storm Bros. Ice Cream Factory store in downtown Annapolis, Md. on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. High tide swept over the banks of the city dock, flooding lower Annapolis stores. (AP Photo/Blake Sell)

  • Boats are piled onto each other after hybrid storm Sandy wash them off their stands, Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, in Brick, N.J. Sandy, which was downgraded from a Hurricane just before making landfall in New Jersey, left millions without power. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

  • Damage caused by a fire at Breezy Point is shown Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, in New York. A fire department spokesman says more than 190 firefighters are at the blaze in the Breezy Point section. Fire officials say the blaze was reported around 11 p.m. Monday in an area flooded by the superstorm that began sweeping through earlier. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

  • ConEd Trucks Underwater

    Consolidated Edision trucks are submerged on 14th Street near the ConEd power plant, Monday, Oct. 29, 2012, in New York. Sandy knocked out power to at least 3.1 million people, and New York’s main utility said large sections of Manhattan had been plunged into darkness by the storm, with 250,000 customers without power as water pressed into the island from three sides, flooding rail yards, subway tracks, tunnels and roads. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

  • A National Guard vehicle drives through the flooded Metropolitan Trailer Park in Moonachie, N.J., Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, in the wake of superstorm Sandy. Sandy arrived along the East Coast and morphed into a huge and problematic system, putting more than 7.5 million homes and businesses in the dark and causing a number of deaths. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)

ΜΕ ΤΟ ΞΗΜΕΡΩΜΑ ΗΣ ΤΡΙΤΗΣ 30 ΟΚΤΩΒΡΙΟΥ 2012

Έσπασε φράγμα στο Νιού Τζέρσεϊ, “αφανίστηκαν” από την πλημμύρα τρεις πόλεις

– 16 νεκροί στις ΗΠΑ και μια γυναίκα στον Καναδά τα θύματα του τυφώνα

– Μεγάλη φωτιά σε εξέλιξη στο Κουίνς, έχουν καταστραφεί 50 σπίτια

– Ο Ρόμνεϊ διοργανώνει εκδήλωση για τα θύματα στο Οχάιο

Εικόνες απόλυτης καταστροφής με τους νεκρούς, μέχρι στιγμής, να έχουν φτάσει τους 16, ανάμεσά τους και δυο παιδιά ηλικίας 11 και 13 ετών. Η Νέα Υόρκη και το Νιου Τζέρσεϊ βρίσκονται κυριολεκτικά στο έλεος του Sandy. Μπορεί από τυφώνας να “υποβαθμίστηκε” σε καταιγίδα, αλλά η καταστροφή είναι ανυπολόγιστη.

Εδώ και ώρες βρίσκεται σε εξέλιξη επιχείρηση απομάκρυνσης των κατοίκων από τρεις πόλεις της πολιτείας του Νιού Τζέρσεϊ καθώς φράγμα στην κομιτεία Μπέργκεν έσπασε και πλημμύρισαν τα πάντα. Το CNN μεταδίδει πως γίνεται εκκένωση.

Το φράγμα έσπασε, πλημμυρίζοντας τις πόλεις Μούναχι, Λιτλ Φέρι και Καρλσταντ, όπου η στάθμη του νερού έφτασε το 1,2 ως 1,5 μέτρο.Πολλοί κάτοικοι ανέβηκαν στις στέγες των σπιτιών τους για να γλιτώσουν, εικόνες που θυμίζουν την καταστροφή στη Νέα Ορλεάνη, από των τυφώνα Κατρίνα το 2005.

Σύμφωνα με την Τζιν Μπαράτα, επικεφαλής των τοπικών αρχών στην κομητεία Μπέργκεν, οι τρεις πόλεις αφανίστηκαν από τις πλημμύρες. Μέχρι τώρα δεν υπάρχουν αναφορές για θύματα.

Ο Μπαράκ Ομπάμα κήρυξε τις πολιτείες της Νέας Υόρκης και του Νιου Τζέρσεϊ σε κατάσταση “μέγιστης καταστροφής”. Αυτό σημαίνει πως για τους πληγέντες σε Μπρονξ, Κινγκς, Νασάου, Νέα Υόρκη, Ρίτσμοντ, Σάφολκ και Κουίνς είναι προσβάσιμα τα ομοσπονδιακά κεφάλαια.

Όλα αυτά ενώ περισσότερα από 7 εκατομμύρια νοικοκυριά παραμένουν στο σκοτάδι. Το μεγαλύτερο μέρος του Μανχάταν, της πόλης που δεν κοιμάται ποτέ, δεν έχει ρεύμα.

Η διακοπή ρεύματος οφείλεται, σε ένα βαθμό, και στην έκρηξη σε υποσταθμό της εταιρίας ηλεκτρικού ρεύματος.

Περισσότεροι από 200 πυροσβέστες επιχειρούν σε πυρκαγιά που ξέσπασε στο Μπρίζι Πόιντ του Κουίνς, οπου ήδη έχουν καταστραφεί 50 σπίτια. Οι πυροσβέστες χρησιμοποιούν φουσκωτές βάρκες στις επιχειρήσεις διάσωσης, ενώ σύμφωνα με αμερικανικά μέσα ενημέρωσης 25 άνθρωποι εγκλωβίστηκαν ανάμεσα στη φωτιά και την πλημμύρα!

Το κόστος των ζημιών στις ανατολικές πολιτείες της Νέας Υόρκης υπολογίζεται ότι μπορεί να ξεπεράσει τα 50 δισεκατομμύρια δολάρια.

Η ΝΥΚΤΑ

Τουλάχιστον δεκατρείς άνθρωποι έχουν χάσει τη ζωή τους στις Ηνωμένες Πολιτείες και τον Καναδά, σύμφωνα με τις τοπικές αρχές, από τις πλημμύρες και τις πτώσεις δένδρων που προκάλεσαν οι θυελλώδεις άνεμοι της καταιγίδας Σάντι.
Οι τοπικές αρχές της Νέας Υόρκης, του Νιού Τζέρσι, της Πενσιλβάνια, της Δυτικής Βιρτζίνια και της Βόρειας Καρολίνας έχουν αναφέρει μέχρι στιγμής δώδεκα νεκρούς, ενώ η αστυνομία του Τορόντο ανακοίνωσε ότι μία Καναδή σκοτώθηκε από τα συντρίμμια που εκτοξεύθηκαν από ριπές ανέμου.
Περί τα 250.000 νοικοκυριά έχουν βυθιστεί στο σκοτάδι στο Μανχάταν και περισσότεροι από ένα εκατομμύριο άνθρωποι βρίσκονται χωρίς ηλεκτρικό ρεύμα στην πολιτεία της Νέας Υόρκης.
Εκτεταμένες πλημμύρες σημειώνονται στο νότιο Μανχάταν που είναι βυθισμένο στο σκοτάδι. Ο δήμαρχος της Νέας Υόρκης Μάικλ Μπλούμπεργκ δήλωσε ότι η διακοπή της ηλεκτροδότησης στο Μανχάταν θα διαρκέσει μέχρι το πρωί της Τρίτης και “ίσως και περισσότερο”.
Ο δήμαρχος της Νέας Υόρκης ζήτησε από τους κατοίκους να αποφύγουν τις μετακινήσεις, προσθέτοντας ότι έχουν εκδηλωθεί “πολλές πυρκαγιές” εξαιτίας των ηλεκτρικών καλωδίων που έχουν πέσει στο έδαφος. Ο δήμαρχος κάλεσε τους κατοίκους να μην τηλεφωνούν στις υπηρεσίες άμεσης δράσης παρά μόνο σε περιπτώσεις απόλυτης ανάγκης. “Αυτή τη στιγμή οι υπηρεσίες λαμβάνουν 10.000 κλήσεις ανά ημίωρο, έναντι 1.000 υπό κανονικές συνθήκες”, είπε.
Ο κυβερνήτης της Νέας Υόρκης Αντριου Κουόμο δήλωσε στο Twitter ότι 1.374.312 άνθρωποι δεν έχουν ηλεκτιρκό ρεύμα στην πολιτεία της Νέας Υόρκης.

 

Official: ‘Most’ Of Atlantic City Underwater… Lower Manhattan Flooded… At Least 5.2 Million Without Power… All Bridges And Tunnels ClosedBloomberg: This Is The ‘Storm Of The Century’… At Least 13 Reported Dead… Hospital Evacuated After Losing Power… Help HuffPost Track The Storm… LOOK: Sandy’s Path… HOW YOU CAN HELP… LATEST UPDATES FROM: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/29/superstorm-sandy-live-updates-photos_n_2041963.html

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Superstorm 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, flooding its tunnels, subway stations and the electrical system that powers Wall Street. At least 13 U.S. deaths were blamed on the storm, which brought the presidential campaign to a halt a week before Election Day.

For New York City at least, Sandy was not the dayslong onslaught many had feared, and the wind and rain that sent water sloshing into Manhattan from three sides began dying down within hours.

(SCROLL DOWN FOR LIVE UPDATES)

Still, the power was out for hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers and an estimated 5.2 million people altogether across the East. And the full extent of the storm’s damage across the region was unclear, and unlikely to be known until daybreak.

In addition, heavy rain and further flooding remain major threats over the next couple of days as the storm makes its way into Pennsylvania and up into New York State. Near midnight, the center of the storm was just outside Philadelphia, and its winds were down to 75 mph, just barely hurricane strength.

“It was nerve-racking for a while, before the storm hit. Everything was rattling,” said Don Schweikert, who owns a bed-and-breakfast in Cape May, N.J., near where Sandy roared ashore. “I don’t see anything wrong, but I won’t see everything until morning.”

As the storm closed in, it converged with a cold-weather system that turned it into a superstorm, a monstrous hybrid consisting not only of rain and high wind but snow in West Virginia and other mountainous areas inland.

It smacked the boarded-up big cities of the Northeast corridor – Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York and Boston – with stinging rain and gusts of more than 85 mph.

Just before Sandy reached land, forecasters stripped it of hurricane status, but the distinction was purely technical, based on its shape and internal temperature. It still packed hurricane-force wind, and forecasters were careful to say it was still dangerous to the tens of millions in its path.

Sandy made landfall at 8 p.m. near Atlantic City, which was already mostly under water and saw an old, 50-foot piece of its world-famous Boardwalk washed away earlier in the day.

Authorities reported a record surge 13 feet high at the Battery at the southern tip of Manhattan, from the storm and high tide combined.

In an attempt to lessen damage from saltwater to the subway system and the electrical network beneath the city’s financial district, New York City’s main utility cut power to about 6,500 customers in lower Manhattan. But a far wider swath of the city was hit with blackouts caused by flooding and transformer explosions.  From: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/29/superstorm-sandy-live-updates-photos_n_2041963.html

 

30 October 2012 Last updated at 14:30 GMT

US President Barack Obama has declared a “major disaster” in New York state after storm Sandy smashed into the US East Coast, causing flooding and cutting power to millions.

A record 4m (13ft) tidal surge sent seawater cascading into large parts of New York City’s subway system.

Across the city, a power sub-station exploded, a hospital was evacuated and fire destroyed 50 homes.

At least 15 people are reported dead across several US states.

They include:

  • At least five people killed by the storm in New York state, including a 30-year-old man crushed by a falling tree in the New York City borough of Queens
  • Three killed in New Jersey, including two parents killed by a falling tree when they got out of their car; their children, 11 and 14, who remained inside, survived
  • A woman in West Virginia who died in a collision in heavy snow caused by the storm

New Jersey state Governor Chris Christie said 2.4 million households had been affected, double the number hit by Hurricane Irene in August 2011.

The devastation was “beyond anything I thought I’d ever see,” Mr Christie told a news conference.

The tidal surge from the storm left fields of debris 7ft (2.25m) high and carried small railway goods cars onto elevated sections of the New Jersey Turnpike, he said.

It is likely to take more than eight days to restore services fully, Mr Christie estimated.

At least six million homes and businesses are without power. In all, about 50 million people could be affected by the storm, with up to a million ordered to evacuate their homes.

Flooded Brooklyn Battery Tunnel in New York. 30 Oct 2012 The Battery Tunnel in New York City was flooded

Sandy, now downgraded from a hurricane but described as a “super-storm”, is churning north and heading for Canada.

Over the past week, Sandy has killed more than 80 people as it carved a path of destruction through the Caribbean.

Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

The New York City subway system is 108 years old, but it has never faced a disaster as devastating as what we experienced last night”

End Quote New York City transport director Joseph Lhota

The storm made landfall close to Atlantic City in New Jersey on Monday at about 20:00 local time (midnight GMT), with winds of more than 80mph (129km/h).

It collided with cold weather fronts from the west and north to create what some forecasters have dubbed a “Frankenstorm”.

Much of Atlantic City was under water and 30,000 residents were evacuated.

In New York City, parts of Lower Manhattan were quickly inundated as the Hudson and East rivers overflowed. Seawater poured into road tunnels and the subway system. Images showed cars being swept along streets by the torrent.

“The New York City subway system is 108 years old, but it has never faced a disaster as devastating as what we experienced last night,” city transport director Joseph Lhota said early on Tuesday.

City officials had earlier ordered some 375,000 residents out of Lower Manhattan and other areas under threat.

“Lower Manhattan is being covered by seawater,” Howard Glaser, director of operations for the New York state government, was quoted as saying. “I am not exaggerating. Seawater is rushing into the Battery Tunnel.”

Battery Tunnel links Manhattan with Long Island.

The city’s Consolidated Edison utility provider said an explosion at a sub-station, probably caused by flooding or flying debris, blacked out much of Lower Manhattan.

Matthew Trowbridge and Susan Burke Mangano filmed flooding in Ocean City, New Jersey

The company said about 500,000 homes in Manhattan were without power.

As dawn broke, residents emerged to see the havoc wreaked by the storm.

In other developments:

  • Fire has destroyed about 50 homes in the New York City borough of Queens
  • More than 200 patients were evacuated from New York University’s Tisch Hospital after power went out and a backup generator failed
  • A large tanker ship has been washed on to a street in Staten Island, New York
  • America’s oldest nuclear power plant, Oyster Creek in New Jersey, was put on alert due to rising water, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said
  • The New York Stock Exchange will stay shut on Tuesday – the first time it has closed for two consecutive days owing to weather since 1888
  • A crew member from a replica of HMS Bounty has died and the captain is missing after the ship sank in mountainous seas off North Carolina on Monday
  • A construction crane in New York was bent double next to a skyscraper, while the facade of a four-storey building collapsed.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the storm surge had surpassed the highest forecast, but he expected waters to start receding.

Continue reading the main story

SANDY HITS EAST COAST

  • At least 16 people dead, including one in Canada
  • 1m ordered to leave their homes
  • 50m people estimated to be affected, with 6m left without power
  • 800-mile (1,290 km) stretch of the US affected
  • 10,000 flights reported grounded globally on Monday and Tuesday
  • Manhattan hit by record storm surge of 13.7ft (4.15m) on Tuesday morning

At 05:00 EDT (09:00 GMT) the National Hurricane Center placed the centre of Sandy about 90 miles (145km) west of Philadelphia with maximum sustained winds of 65mph (105km/h) with higher gusts.

Forecasters have said Sandy could linger over as many as 12 states for 24-36 hours.

President Obama has also declared emergencies in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Public transport has been suspended in the US capital, New York, Baltimore, Philadelphia and Boston.

Amtrak has suspended passenger train services across the north-east, while nearly 14,000 flights were cancelled, according to Flightaware.com.

Up to 3ft (91cm) of snow was expected to fall on the Appalachian mountains in West Virginia, Virginia and Kentucky.

The disaster-estimating firm Eqecat has forecast that Sandy could cause economic losses to the US of between $10bn and $20bn (£6.2bn-£12.4bn).