Superstorm Sandy Ravages US Large Cities

Frankenstorm Sandy Onslaughts Large City in the U.S.

Sandy, one of the biggest storms ever to hit the United States, roared ashore with violent winds and heavy pour of rain on Monday near the gambling resort of Atlantic City, New Jersey. After forcing evacuations, all transportations were shut down and the presidential campaigns were temporarily interrupted.

High winds and flooding racked hundreds of miles of Atlantic coastline while heavy snows were forecast farther inland at higher elevations as the center of the storm marched westward.

More than 3 million household already were left without power by early evening and more than a million people were subject to evacuation orders. Many communities were swamped by flood waters.

The National Hurricane Center said Sandy came ashore as a "post-tropical cyclone," meaning it still packed hurricane-force winds but lost the characteristics of a tropical storm. It had sustained winds of 80 miles per hour, well above the threshold for hurricane intensity.

The storm's target area includes big population centers such as New York City, Washington, Baltimore and Philadelphia.

Trees were downed across the region, pieces of scaffolding rolled down the ghostly streets of New York City. Falling debris caused the closure of a major bridge in Boston and floodwater inundated side streets in the resort town of Dewey Beach, Delaware, leaving just the tops of mailboxes in view.

U.S. stock markets were closed for the first time since the attacks of September 11, 2001, and will remain close until Tuesday. The federal government in Washington was closed and schools were temporarily closed down the East Coast.

Posted by James Fried on Wednesday October 31 2012, 4:12 AM EST. Ref: CNN. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, World. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0