Hurricane Sandy heads for US after killing 59 in Caribbean

October 28, 2012   ·   0 Comments

MIAMI

Across the eastern US, Americans made frantic preparations for a possible superstorm as Hurricane Sandy lumbered north after leaving 59 people dead in the Caribbean.

The so-called “Frankenstorm” was expected to make landfall somewhere between Virginia and Massachusetts early on Tuesday, hitting during the frenzied final week of campaigning before the USelections on November 6.

The storm was at category one hurricane strength at 1800 GMT, with sustained winds of 75 miles (120 kilometers) per hour as it moved along the east coast,the National Hurricane Center said.

“Sandy (is) producing tropical storm-force winds over the Atlantic from the northern Bahamas to near the coast of North Carolina,” the center said, adding that the storm was traveling in a northeasterly direction at 11 miles (18 kilometers) per hour.

Forecasters at the National Weather Service warned the storm would “result in significant impacts along coastal North Carolina” beginning late yesterday.

Sandy could cause “moderate coastal flooding and rough surf” through Monday, drenching the state with three to five inches (seven to 13 centimeters) of rain inland and as much as five to eight inches along the coast, they warned.

But forecasters and emergency officials were far more worried about what could happen further north.

“This is a large storm that is forecasted to impact the Mid-Atlantic and other parts of the East Coast with strong winds, coastal flooding, inland flooding, rain and snow,” said Craig Fugate, head of the US Federal Emergency Management Agency.

“People should be ready for the possibility of power outages paired with cold temperatures,” he said in a statement yesterday.

Sandy’s likely collision early next week with a seasonal “nor’easter” weather system was predicted to super-charge the storm, dragging it to the west where it is expected to slam into the coastal US states of Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and even inland Ohio.

By Web Editor

Tags: Caribbean, coast, Hurricane Sandy, US, Virginia, yesterday