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Hurricane Sandy Forces Mass Evacuations In Mid-Atlantic

Dawn Megli |
October 28, 2012 | 6:57 p.m. PDT

Executive Producer

Grand Central Station in NYC was completely empty after being evacuated on Sunday ahead of Hurricane Sandy. (MTA)
Grand Central Station in NYC was completely empty after being evacuated on Sunday ahead of Hurricane Sandy. (MTA)
Hundreds of thousands of New York City area residents were ordered to evacuate ahead of the brunt of Hurricane Sandy's damage, according to the Wall Street Journal

Sandy is expected to bring a foot of rain and winds up to 80 mph.

The storm isn't expected to make landfall until Tuesday morning but even as of Sunday, heavy rains and high winds punished the New York area. The Metropolitan Transit Authority cancelled bus, train and subway service. 

SEE ALSO: Hurricane Sandy Threatens Early Voting In Swing States

The federal government announced that D.C. area offices will be closed Monday.

"This is the largest threat to human life our state has experienced in our lifetime," said Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy.

Power companies assured they were prepared for the storm but elected officials warned that some areas may lose power for days. Oil refineries in the area are shutting down or cutting production in anticipation of possible power outages, NBC reported. 

Con-Edison, which provides power to more than 3.2 million New Yorkers, is preparing for potential damage to their equipment by storm surges and flooding water. Estimates say up to 10 million people could lose power.

SEE ALSO: Airlines Cancel 4,700 Flights With Hurricane Sandy Looming

Hurricane Sandy is wreaking havoc on the presidential campaign, as well. From the Washington Post:

The impending storm has already disrupted early voting in the Washington region. D.C. election officials canceled early balloting on Monday, as did Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D), citing concerns about the ability of voters to travel or reach polls in areas under mandatory or voluntary evacuations. He said the lost day could possibly be made up Friday.

Sandy will also hamper in-person absentee voting in at least some parts of Virginia on Monday. Four jurisdictions on the Eastern Shore and southeastern Virginia — Accomack, Portsmouth, Virginia Beach and Surry County — announced Sunday that they would not hold early voting Monday, and more cancellations were expected overnight.

SEE ALSO: Hurricane Sandy Forces Obama, Romney To Cancel Campaign Events

Even though it hasn't made landfall, yet Hurricane Sandy is already making history. The New York Stock Exchange will close its trading floor on Monday, the first weather-related closure in 27 years, according to Forbes.

 

Click here for more coverage of Hurricane Sandy.

Reach Executive Producer Dawn Megli here. Follow her on Twitter here. 

[View the story "Frankenstorm Heads for the East Coast" on Storify]



 

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