Update on Sandy....State of Emergency - Eastern Seaboard

 

Coastal Florida has already experienced high winds

Satellite Image of Hurricane Sandy

 

People along the East Coast of the US are preparing for Hurricane Sandy, which has killed nearly 60 people across the Caribbean.

States of emergency have been declared in Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington DC and a coastal county in North Carolina. Sandy currently has maximum sustained winds of 75mph (120km/h) and is moving north at 11mph.

It is expected to make landfall along the eastern US coast late on Monday. At 14:00 EDT (18:00 GMT), the eye of the storm was about 335 miles (539km) south-east of Charleston in South Carolina, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Tropical storm warnings are in effect in both South and North Carolina, as well as Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds. Sandy is expected to move along the US eastern seaboard, bringing a rise of coastal flooding.

Gale-force winds are expected to arrive along parts of the mid-Atlantic coast by Sunday evening, reaching Long Island and southern New England by Monday.

The NHC said further strengthening was possible on Sunday, before Sandy touches down anywhere between Virginia and southern New England late on Monday or early Tuesday.