A map at the National Hurricane Center in Miami indicates Hurricane Sandy's position moving through the Bahamas off the east coast of Florida, October 26, 2012. Hurricane Sandy left at least 38 people dead as it moved through the Caribbean, following a pa
Hurricane Sandy Taking Aim at Eastern US
Tens of millions of people along the U.S. east coast, from New England to Florida, are getting ready for the onslaught of Hurricane Sandy.
Forecasters say the storm moving out of the Caribbean will combine with other storm systems blowing in from the north to create a major threat. The storm's arrival will coincide with Halloween, leading some forecasters to call it "Frankenstorm" - named for the Frankenstein monster of literature and films.
Forecasters say their warnings of damaging winds, drenching rain, coastal floods, and heavy mountain snow are not hype and must be taken seriously.
Washington, D.C. and the governors of New York, Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina have already declared states of emergency. Power companies are telling customers to prepare for possible long outages. Local authorities are urging residents to stock up on drinkable water, canned foods, and batteries.
The exact path of the storm is unclear. But forecasters say Sandy has the greatest chance of making landfall in Delaware or southern New Jersey, with the worst of the storm coming Monday night and into Tuesday.
Sandy moves north after pounding the Bahamas, Cuba, Haiti, and Jamaica, killing at least 38 people.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP, and Reuters.
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Hurricane Sandy Strengthens
Hurricane Sandy has made landfall on the southeastern coast of Cuba and strengthened to a strong Category Two storm, with winds up to 175 kilometers per hour.
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