Coastal resort towns in the United States have already experienced the power of Hurricane Sandy. The "gambling capital" of the East Coast of the country - the famous Atlantic City - has been flooded almost completely. According to witnesses, the water level in the streets rose up to 1.5 meters in some places. Last weekend, all 12 city casinos were closed, which happened for the fourth time in the last 34 years.
At least 54,000 people residing on Long Island (New York) and more than 42,000 in the state of New Jersey have been left without electricity.
First Category Hurricane is moving to the northwest at a speed of 32 km/h. The winds inside the hurricane reach 150 km/h.
Railway services on the East Coast have been disrupted, more than 9,000 flights have been canceled. According to experts, Sandy may cause the damage worth billions of dollars. State of emergency has been introduced in nine states of the East Coast of the country.
In New York City - the largest American metropolis - the subway was closed on Sunday. Surface public transport does not work either. All sports and entertainment events have been canceled. There are hardly any pedestrians on the streets of Manhattan. Times Square is still full of tourists, but their quantity is still unusually small.
Schools, large stores, banks and stock exchanges are closed. The evacuation of about 370,000 residents of low-lying areas of the city was conducted during the weekend. Many of them will have to spend the next few days in temporary shelters that were organized presumably in school buildings.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said that should the wind speed in the hurricane reach 100 km/h, most of the bridges of the city would be closed. According to meteorologists, if Sandy's landfall coincides with high tide, three-meter waves will engulf the low-lying areas of the city, including the Russian-speaking Brighton Beach in Brooklyn.
In August 2011, Hurricane Irene struck the East Coast of the U.S., having killed more than 50 people and caused about 19 billion dollars of damage. Sandy has already claimed at least 14 deaths.