(Hurricane Sandy, NASA)

States along the East Coast have escalated their emergency preparations ahead of Hurricane Sandy’s arrival, expected on Sunday. Residents along the coast “sandbagged low lying areas, secured and fortified homes and buildings, and packed stores to stock up on bottled water, food, and batteries in anticipation of widespread power outages.”

Several states have declared states of emergency; namely, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia New Jersey, North Carolina and New York. New Jersey’s Governor Chris Christie ordered evacuations for New Jersey’s barrier islands, as well as Atlantic City.

The storm is likely to hit some of the East Coast’s most densely populated cities: New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Boston among them.

Read more of Neon Tommy's coverage of Hurricane Sandy here.

Reach Executive Producer Cara Palmer here; follow her here.