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Hurricane Sandy Promises to be a Strong, Costly Storm, Experts Say

Regardless of its official category, Sandy is expected to be a monstrous storm that poses a serious threat for the entire Eastern Seaboard.

By Victoria Cavaliere , Daniel Beekman AND Jonathan Lemire /

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Updated: Sunday, October 28, 2012, 10:33 AM

NOAA National Hurricane Center/Reuters

Hurricane Sandy is seen churning towards the east coast of the United States is this NOAA handout satellite image taken on October 27, 2012.

Hurricane Sandy bore down on the East Coast Saturday, on its way to becoming an unprecedented superstorm that could pummel the city and leave millions of people in the Northeast without power.

Residents across the region scrambled to prepare for the onslaught of weather, stocking up on supplies while city officials mulled whether to order evacuations of low-lying areas and the suspension of the mass transit system.

Gov. Cuomo instructed the MTA to prepare for a shutdown, but the final decision about closing the subway and bus system won’t come until Sunday night.

NEW YORK CITY ANNOUNCES MTA WILL SUSPEND SERVICE STARTING SUNDAY AT 7PM: SEE DETAILS

“The bottom line on this is we’re planning for the worst and hoping for the best,” said MTA Chairman Joe Lhota. “I think it’s very important that all of the New Yorkers know what is the possibility, with the critical date being 7 p.m. tomorrow night,” he said.

SEE BELOW FOR EVACUATION INFORMATION FOR NEW YORK CITY

A systemwide shutdown — which happened only once before, during Hurricane Irene last summer — would take several hours to go into effect, with the final train coming to a stop around 3 a.m. Monday. Commuter rails would also go dark and MTA-run bridges would be shut down if winds eclipse more than 60 mph, effectively grinding the city to a halt.

Julia Xanthos/ New York Daily News

Workers from the MTA installing plywood over subway grating to prevent flooding expected from Hurricane Sandy on October 26, 2012.

AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana

cott Viviano, foreground, helps his friends to board up the windows of their home as Hurricane Sandy approaches the Atlantic Coast in Ocean City, Md., on Saturday, Oct. 27, 2012.

Worried weather forecasters suggested such drastic action may be necessary.

“This is really going to be a huge storm and something unprecedented in meteorological terms,” AccuWeather forecaster Marshall Moss told the Daily News. “This storm will affect millions and cost billions.”

The violent squall was upgraded to a hurricane early Saturday just hours after forecasters said it had weakened to a tropical storm. The gale gained steam 335 miles off the coast of South Carolina, with maximum wind speeds reaching 75 mph.

The brunt of the bad weather is expected to slam the city late Monday and early Tuesday. But the front of the tempest is expected to hit Sunday with strong winds and rainfall.

Michael Ip for New York Daily News

Water supply was running very low at Pioneer Supermarket on Columbus Ave. at 73rd St. on Oct. 27, 2012 as people started to prepare for Hurricane Sandy.

Forecasters said the eye of the storm appears to be headed for southern or central New Jersey. But scary weather will batter an 800-mile swath of the Northeast, no matter where the heart of the hurricane lands.

City officials were considering canceling school Monday and ordering the evacuation of up to 375,000 New Yorkers who live in flood zones.

Speaking at a Saturday evening news conference, Mayor Bloomberg said no evacuations have been ordered and a decision on schools would come Sunday.

Hizzoner, fearing a record storm surge in lower Manhattan, cautioned New Yorkers against letting down their guard.

“Don’t get lulled tomorrow when there’s not a lot of rain, not a lot of wind,” Bloomberg said. “This is a dangerous storm. I think we’re going to be okay, but if it were to strengthen unexpectedly or change its expected path, it could do a lot of damage and you could be at risk.”

AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana

A worker boards up the windows of the store as Hurricane Sandy approaches in Ocean City, Md., on Saturday, Oct. 27.

Malcolm Denemark/Florida Today via AP

Beachgoers venture out to the end of Minutemen Causeway in Cocoa Beach, Fla., around lunchtime to see the waves, getting sandblasted from the wind and sand, due to the effects of the outer bands of Hurricane Sandy, Friday, Oct. 26, 2012.

The city on Sunday will open 65 public shelters in schools for terrified New Yorkers — and their pets. Cops have been put on extended hours and all city parks will be closed at 5 p.m. Sunday, Bloomberg said.

The mayor pleaded for people to stay off the beaches and surfers to remain on land.

“You may want to run the risk, but if we have to send out emergency workers after you, their lives will be at risk,” Bloomberg said. “You just don’t have a right to do that to someone else.”

Some whose homes are in the path of the storm are determined to stay.

“We’re going to wait and pray to God,” said John Conklin, 56, a security guard who stocked his Broad Channel, Queens, home with bread, milk, batteries and bottled water.

Others who hoped to ride out the storm in their coastal homes nearly came to blows as they shopped for emergency supplies.

“The customers are getting pretty crazy,” said Peter Sacca, who works in Brown’s Hardware in Rockaway Park. “They start yelling at each other when people grab the last flashlight.”

Desmond Boyland/Reuters

A man salvages planks from his damaged house after Hurricane Sandy hit Santiago de Cuba October 26, 2012.

Sacca said the storm “is boosting business” and required the store to send an employee to Pennsylvania to acquire more supplies. “They’re coming for flashlights, sand bags, tape, kerosene.”

Some city residents had a different take on storm essentials. Bottles of wine and vodka were flying off the shelves at Michael Towne Wines and Spirits in Brooklyn Heights.

“We’ve been busy here since 10 a.m.,” said stock clerk Warren Berry, 36. “They’ve been coming in and coming in.”

Many bracing for Sandy are still scared by Irene, which wreaked havoc when it ripped across the Eastern Seaboard last August, causing more than $15 billion in damages as it downed trees and flooded homes.

“This whole area was underwater — it was a foot deep,” said Dick Kalb, an 84-year-old World War II vet, as he desperately tried to safeguard his home on Mastic Beach, L.I. “I’m nervous. I could lose everything.”

Deborah Star Reed said Irene, a tropical storm by the time it hit New York, redecorated her home — and not to her liking.

Mary Altaffer/AP

Metropolitan Transportation Authority workers cover an entrance to the Canal Street A, C, and E station with plywood to help prevent flooding, on Oct. 27, 2012.

“I had a swimming pool in my basement,” said the Arverne, Queens, resident, whose house suffered thousands of dollars in damages. “It took me a whole year to recover from Irene.”

Gov. Chris Christie ordered the mandatory evacuation of barrier islands from Sandy Hook to Cape May by 4 p.m. Sunday. He also ordered Atlantic City gambling be suspended as of 3 p.m. Sunday and that casinos close by 4 p.m.

Christie warned residents to avoid using generators indoors or “jerry-rigging” extension cords to deal with outages.

“If it looks stupid, it is stupid,” Christie said. “That’s the Jersey rule.

Suffolk County officials ordered a mandatory evacuation of Fire Island. County Executive Steve Bellone said the 300 year-round residents must be out by 2 p.m. Sunday.

Bill Ward, who owns a beach house near Fire Island, isn’t taking any chances. He loaded up Saturday for a long drive back to his main residence in Illinois.

“If there’s damage, there’s nothing we can do,” said Ward, 74. “If you have a barrier-island home, that’s the price you pay.”

Experts said the storm, which has claimed as many as 58 lives, showed no sign of digressing from its current northward track, and its impact will rattle the coast from Florida to Maine. They say the hurricane will collide with a wintry storm from the west and frigid gusts from the north to create an “extratropical storm” some forecasters have dubbed “Frankenstorm.”

Michael Ip for New York Daily News

Meat selection was running low at Pioneer Supermarket on Columbus Ave. at 73rd St. on Oct. 27, 2012.

Strong winds and driving rain will pummel New York and New Jersey. To the north and west of the city, mountainous areas could see up to 2 feet of snow.

Flooding is a major concern in the city and a worst-case scenario could see a surge of up to 8 feet of water in the subway. A full moon means tides will be higher than usual, making it easier for the storm’s powerful winds to push water into low-lying areas.

Hurricane-force winds could topple utility poles, while heavy snow could send tree branches crashing into power lines.

Airlines began canceling scores of flights along the Atlantic seaboard while officials warned drivers to stay off the roads during the peak of the storm.

Chuck Fadely/The Miami Herald via AP

A surfer rides some of the rare waves driven by Hurricane Sandy at South Beach in Miami Friday, Oct. 26, 2012.

The LIRR’s website states the agency will make a decision on shutting down Sunday at 7 p.m.

Amtrak has canceled some service to New York for Sunday, according to its website.

NJ Transit’s website says preparations are being made for possible shutdowns and there will be systemwide cross-honoring of all rail, bus and light rail tickets from Monday through 6 a.m. Wednesday. Several East Coast governors declared states of emergency in advance, and President Obama has begun receiving regular briefings on the storm’s progress, according to White House officials.

With Vera Chinese, Clare Trapasso, Jennifer H. Cunningham and Corinne Lestch

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