Live blog: Bracing for Hurricane Sandy
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A woman watches the waves on at Beach 122nd street in the Queens borough of New York October 29, 2012. Hurricane Sandy, the monster storm bearing down on the East Coast, strengthened on Monday after hundreds of thousands moved to higher ground, public transport shut down and the stock market suffered its first weather-related closure in 27 years. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton
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Workers stack sandbags beside concrete barriers to protect buildings near the World Financial Center in anticipation of flooding, Monday, Oct. 29, 2012, in New York. Hurricane Sandy bore down on the Eastern Seaboard's largest cities Monday, forcing the shutdown of mass transit, schools and financial markets, sending coastal residents fleeing, and threatening a dangerous mix of high winds, soaking rain and a seawater surge of anywhere from 6 to 11 feet. (AP Photo/ John Minchillo)
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The floor of the New York Stock Exchange is empty of traders, Monday, Oct. 29, 2012, in New York. All major U.S. stock and options exchanges will remain closed Monday with Hurricane Sandy nearing landfall on the East Coast. Trading has rarely stopped for weather. A blizzard led to a late start and an early close on Jan. 8, 1996, according to the exchange's parent company, NYSE Euronext. The NYSE shut down on Sept. 27, 1985 for Hurricane Gloria. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
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Armageddon not yet here in my corner of Manhattan. Coffee, liquor stores & bodegas open. Damp, little windy. p.twimg.com
by Joanna Slater via twitter 10/29/2012 1:22:41 PM -
It is worth pointing out what is meant by "mid-Atlantic" - the area that will feel the effect of Hurricane Sandy: it stretches from New England to North Carolina. A stretch that includes several major cities - Washington D.C. and New York City just two of them.
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RT @nytlizrobbins: What's this park closure stuff? Dogs may be the most upset by #Sandy's barricading of Central Park. p.twimg.com
by Joanna Slater via twitter 10/29/2012 1:26:36 PM -
Some dramatic detail via correspondent Paul Koring:
"At least one ship – the Canadian-built replica of HMS. Bounty – was sinking in the raging storm offshore and a pair of U.S. Coast Guard Jayhawk rescue helicopters were overhead as of 7 a.m., attempting to winch to safety the 17 members of the crew who were in life rafts in heavy seas . They abandoned the sinking vessel, star of many movies including the Pirates of the Caribbean series, before dawn.
"They're in cold-water survival suits in two life rafts and the first Jayhawk is overhead," Coast Guard spokesman Lieutenant.-Commander Jamie Frederick told The Globe and Mail."
If you haven't had a chance to read Paul Koring's main story on the preparations ahead of Sandy: www.theglobeandmail.com -
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Intrepid joggers and dog walkers near Central Park. Traffic very light, good day for commuting -- sort of. p.twimg.com
by Joanna Slater via twitter 10/29/2012 1:39:06 PM -
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And if you're wondering about the 'Frankenstorm' reference: apparently it is where hurricane heading from the east meets weather system heading from the west. Meteorologists saying that along with coastal surges, high winds and rain - there will be snowfall in parts of the U.S. Midwest as the storm moves inland.
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Hat tip to the Globe's Paul Koring for sharing this web site qz.com of some of the live web cameras set up looking out in to the Atlantic as Sandy makes its approach. Here is one from Long Beach, Long Island NY: www.nysea.com
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Sign outside evacuation center; inside very calm, staff outnumber people taking shelter in a school cafeteria. p.twimg.com
by Joanna Slater via twitter 10/29/2012 1:51:21 PM -
Pretty amazing map of the U.S. from the National Weather Service: giving an idea of the likely hurricane-affected differentiated by shades of red - one being a hurricane warning, the other being a hurricane force wind warning. Take the two together, and it covers pretty much the entire east coast: www.weather.gov
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My brief reporting stint inside shelter ends when NYPD firmly but politely escorts me to door, saying media not allowed in. True elsewhere?by Joanna Slater via twitter 10/29/2012 1:58:50 PM
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The U.S. National Weather Service map also has these bright neon green points indicating flood warnings - well, if you click on that section you can see the cities: Atlantic City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Georgetown: www.weather.gov
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On the impact of Sandy in Canada, my colleagues Oliver Moore in Toronto and Jane Taber in Halifax have filed this story: www.theglobeandmail.com
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Here are the key points from Oliver's and Jane's story:
Environment Canada’s Canadian Hurricane Centre in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, says the massive storm “continues to be an extremely large and dangerous tropical cyclone.” No dramatic impact on air travel - yet.
But raging winds and heavy rain by Monday afternoon Southern Ontario and Central Quebec threatened to "uproot trees, down utility lines and cause flooding," my colleagues report. -
More details via the Globe's Oliver Moore and Jane Taber: Winds of up to 100 kilometres an hour in the Toronto area by Monday evening; possible flooding in Quebec City area; and five to seven metre waves expected for communities along the southwestern part of Nova Scotia.
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President Obama on Sunday called Sandy a "serious and big storm" and calling on people living on the eastern seaboard - "the mid-Atlantic, going north" - to take this storm very seriously and listen to local officials. President Obama also said: the storm would be slow-moving, meaning that it would take power companies time to get in to affected area and remove trees, etc.
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So how is Sandy likely to impact the presidential campaign? It is a question we put to two strategists - a Republican and Democrat - and here is what they shared with the Globe and Mail in our Winning the Week column: www.theglobeandmail.com
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Ron Bonjean, a Republican strategist who served in the George W. Bush administration, calls Hurricane Sandy the "October surprise" of the presidential campaign. He thinks the president can use the power of the incumbency to look presidential and in command. With a caveat though: "being the man-in-charge carries risks of upset homeowners waiting for their power to come back."
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Linda Moore Forbes, a Democratic strategist who served in the Clinton White House and worked on Capitol Hill, also sees some risk for President Obama if the impact of Sandy is severe and millions of people are left without power. But there is another consideration - states suspending early voting:
"Fewer days of early voting due to the storm is not good for anyone, least of all the Obama campaign, which typically wins 3-1 in early voting. It means fewer days to get all those who want to vote to the polls, and longer lines for them to wait in when they get there." -
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The New York harbour live web cam: nyharborwebcam.com Rain, high winds and big waves.
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RT @Matthew_Orr: #Surge is intensifying along the Hudson River. #sandy p.twimg.com
by Joanna Slater via twitter 10/29/2012 2:39:51 PM -
This update on HMS Bounty story via Paul Koring:
"At least two and maybe three crew members were missing in high seas and raging winds after the Canadian-built replica of HMS Bounty was abandoned and sank Monday morning.
"U.S. Coast Guard Jayhawk helicopters rescued 14 others from life rafts in a dramatic dawn rescue about 150 km off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.
"“Fourteen are safe on shore and we’ve sent another Jayhawk out to the scene,” Lieutenant-Commander Jamie Frederick told The Globe and Mail at 10:30 am. He confirmed several members of the Bounty crew were missing. A large Coast Guard Hercules was orbiting overhead but the search for the missing was being conducted in the midst of near-hurricane conditions.
"It wasn’t clear whether 16 or 17 people were on board HMS Bounty, the 52-year-old replica of an 18th century British warship." -
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And this detail via Jane Taber - quoting some of the men who worked on the HMS Bounty:
"Two elderly shipbuilders, who had worked on the Bounty when it was being built in Lunenburg in the early 1960s, were shocked Monday morning to hear the news the ship had sank. Both had visited the Bounty this summer, admiring their handiwork from so long ago, when it came into the Lunenburg harbour as part of the Tall Ships festival.
"“Oh, oh,” Edward Mosher said Monday morning when hearing the news about the Bounty. “Well, I don’t know what to think.” He was concerned about the fate of the crew.
"“It was a a well-made ship, he said, wondering how the tragedy could have happened.
Edgar Silver worked on planking and framing of the famous ship.
"The 88-year-old, who lives in Bridgewater, not far from Lunenburg, hadn’t heard the news this morning that the Bounty had sunk. Just this summer, he was able to visit it again and view his handiwork when it was in Lunenburg as part of the Tall Ships festival.
"He says he was proud of the work he had done on the ship." -
The latest advisory from the National Hurricane Centre in the U.S. has been posted: www.nhc.noaa.gov
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Just spoke with friend who lives 50 yards from coast in CT. Water in neighbor's yard, fireman going door to door telling folks to evacuate.by Joanna Slater via twitter 10/29/2012 2:58:45 PM
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RT @sbest2048: Goldman Sachs is taking #Sandy seriously with concrete barriers and sandbags. p.twimg.com
by Joanna Slater via twitter 10/29/2012 3:00:09 PM -
