Hurricane Sandy barged ashore in southern New Jersey just after 6 p.m., bringing 90-mph winds and a roiling wall of seawater as it moved inland and north toward New York City.
The monster storm, a powerful, 900-mile-wide hybrid of several weather systems, sent 30-foot-high swells toward the garden State, and as its eye passed over the shoreline, a surge as high as 10 feet tore into dunes and washed across boardwalks. The state had evacuated all shore towns ahead of the strike, with Gov. Chris Christie telling residents who ignored the evacuation orders they were "both stupid and selfish."
"[It's a] very intense, very dangerous storm. People will die in this storm," Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley said Monday. "So folks will need to mind their families, stay home and hunker down."
Even homes on stilts were threatened by the massive surge, and water was cresting dunes and boardwalks from Delaware's Rehoboth Beach to Jones Beach in New York.
The hurricane, which has already cost hundreds of thousands of people power and caused flooding through a wide swath of the nation's most populous region, was expected to pound the nation's biggest city with hurricane-force winds for hours Monday night. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo shut down all major New York bridges and schools, airports and the New York Stock Exchange were closed for Tuesday. North of Atlantic City, the hurricane was expected to be at maximum force from about 7 p.m. to 11 p.m., with gusts up to 90 mph, especially on ocean-facing beaches. For Long Island, Connecticut, and the rest of coastal New England, the high impact winds could last until midnight, according to The Wall Street Journals Weather Journal.
The National Guard was deployed along the densely-populated Atlantic Coast, and airports shut down Monday afternoon as the massive system churned in from the sea, creating 30-foot swells off the Jersey shore. The hurricane is on a collision course with a winter storm and a cold front, and high tides from a full moon make it a rare hybrid storm that could be felt all the way to the Great Lakes. Still, it could be worse the storm could be well inland when evening high tide comes, some six hours after landfall.
"People will die in this storm."
- Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley
Forecasters warned that the New York City region could face the worst of the hurricane. As of midday Monday, the storm was centered about 110 miles southeast of Atlantic City, N.J., moving northwest at 28 mph with hurricane-force winds extending an incredible 175 miles from its center. The National Hurricane Center said the storm has intensified, with top sustained winds of 90 mph and higher gusts. Sandy has already been blamed for 69 deaths in the Caribbean before it began traveling northward, parallel to the Eastern Seaboard.
"Don't be fooled, don't look out the window and say, it doesn't look so bad," Gov. Andrew Cuomo said during a morning press conference. "The worst is still coming."
In Washington, President Obama urged the millions in Hurricane Sandys path to heed warnings from local and state officials.
When they tell you to evacuate, you need to evacuate, Obama said. Don't delay, don't pause, don't question the instructions that are being given because this is a powerful storm."
States of emergency were declared from North Carolina, where gusty winds whipped steady rain on Sunday, to Connecticut. Delaware ordered mandatory evacuations for coastal communities on Sunday, while Ocean City, Md., also was evacuated.
Authorities warned that New York City could be hit with an 11-foot wall of water that has the potential to swamp parts of lower Manhattan, flood subway tunnels and cripple the network of electrical and communications lines that are vital to the nation's financial center.
Tens of thousands of people were ordered to evacuate in anticipation of the storm, including 375,000 in lower Manhattan and other parts of New York City. At least 50,000 were ordered to evacuate in Delaware alone and 30,000 in Atlantic City, N.J., where the city's 12 casinos were forced to shut down for only the fourth time in the 34-year history of legalized gambling there.
Airlines canceled more than 8,962 flights and Amtrak began suspending passenger train service across the Northeast. New York and Philadelphia shut down their subways, buses and commuter trains Sunday night and announced that schools would be closed on Monday. Boston, Washington and Baltimore also called off school. In Washington and New Jersey, Metrorail and PATH train services were canceled.
"The time for preparing and talking is about over," Federal Emergency Management Administrator Craig Fugate said as Hurricane Sandy made its way up the Atlantic on a collision course with two other weather systems that could turn it into one of the most fearsome storms on record in the U.S. "People need to be acting now."
In Connecticut, the number of power outages began climbing as the storm moved closer to the state. Connecticut Light & Power said about 7,700 customers were without power Monday, up from 158 earlier in the day. In New York City, 20,000 homes were reported to be without power.
Forecasters said the hurricane could blow ashore Monday night or early Tuesday along the New Jersey coast, then cut across into Pennsylvania and travel up through New York State on Wednesday.
"We're looking at impact of greater than 50 to 60 million people," said Louis Uccellini, head of environmental prediction for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
In upstate New York in Syracuse, shelves normally stocked with water at a Wegmans store were bare on Sunday, CNYCentral.com reports.
An assistant manager at a Lowes store in Columbus, Ohio, told 10TV.com that people were calling in from West Virginia and Maryland to ask for supplies, and in northern Virginia, a cashier at Pitkins Ace Hardware in Dale City said batteries, flashlights and candles were flying off the shelves, PotomacLocal.com reports.
The storm even put Lady Liberty on hold.
The Statue of Liberty was scheduled to reopen Sunday to the public after a renovation project, but the monument will be closed Monday and Tuesday as Sandy passes through the area.
The danger of the storm is hardly limited to coastal areas. Forecasters were far more worried about inland flooding from storm surge than they were about winds. Rains could saturate the ground, causing trees to topple into power lines, utility officials said, warning residents to prepare for several days at home without power.
In North Carolina's Outer Banks, there was some scattered, minor flooding Sunday on the beach road in Nags Head.
The Virginia National Guard was also authorized to call up to 500 troops to active duty for debris removal and road-clearing, while homeowners stacked sandbags at their front doors in coastal towns.
The U.S. Office of Personnel Management says federal offices will be closed Monday and only emergency employees are required to report to work. Non-emergency employees will be granted administrative leave for their scheduled working hours unless they are required to telework or are traveling or on unpaid leave.
President Obama said the storm is "serious and big" and will be "slow moving," while he was at the headquarters of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to get an update on plans for responding to Hurricane Sandy.
The president declared a state of emergency in the nation's capital as Sandy approaches.
The White House said in a news release that the president on Sunday signed the state of emergency declaration, which had been requested by Mayor Vincent Gray. It says federal aid should supplement the city's response efforts due to the emergency conditions.
The move follows the federal government's decision to close offices on Monday. The district's board of elections also announced it was suspending early voting on Monday. It has not been determined whether here will be early voting on Tuesday.
Obama nixed his participation in a campaign rally in Orlando on Monday and flew back to Washington to monitor the storm. The president has instructed his team to make sure that needed federal resources are in place to support state and local recovery efforts.
Mitt Romney canceled all his campaign events for Monday night and Tuesday due to the storm. The Supreme Court, meanwhile, announced in a rare move it would not convene on Tuesday. The court will hear Tuesday's arguments on Thursday.
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Hurricane Sandy makes landfall, churns toward New York City | Fox News