GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Maybe it’s the legacy of Hurricane Katarina slamming into New Orleans in 2005, but the eastern coast of the US was taking no chances during the night of Sunday to Monday, waiting for Hurricane Sandy to show up. The New York Times, describing the eery streets of the city with public transport shut and restaurants closed, said the only people out and about appeared to be tourists with nowhere to go. Even the New York Stock Exchange is closed Monday, handling only electronic trading.
The Washington Post, noting that public transport is closed down, as are schools, says that utility crews were called in from neighbouring states after authorities estimated that up to 10 million people could lose their electricity. New Jersey officials were encouraging citizens to keep their mobile devices charged to be able to get storm updates.
Sandy cost 60 people their lives in the Caribbean last week before it gathered strength and began heading north.
National Hurricane Center updates, US National Weather Service
