How Did the East Coast Fare During the Storm?

Call it a hurricane, a tropical storm or a Frankenstorm, but Sandy has wrought billions of dollars of damage as it left a path of total destruction up the East Coast and claimed at least 16 lives.

More than 7 million people lost power due to the storm, with at least 5 million still without electricity this morning.

Connecticut

More than 618,000 residents of Connecticut are without power this morning.  At least two people are dead in incidents relating to the storm and Governor Dannel Malloy pled with trapped coastal residents not to attempt to swim to safety. A Tweet from the state’s  emergency management office said:

If u find urself surrounded by H2O, call 4 help if u can & then get 2 highest level of home. Hang a white sheet out a street side window.

850 National Guardsmen were deployed throughout the state and continued rescue efforts late into the night.  The state has banned trucks and non-emergency vehicles from most highways beginning at 1 p.m. Monday.

A State of Emergency has been declared in Connecticut.

Delaware

More than 80,000 residents of Delaware are without power and expect to remain so for 7-10 days.  The high winds and flooding continue to hammer the state this morning, making much of the restoration work impossible for crews.

All non-essential employees have been asked to stay home from work today

A State of Emergency has been declared in Delaware.

Florida

Florida’s “Space Coast” took a hit of millions of dollars in damage as Sandy passed through.  Homeowners in South Beach watched as the high waves took out sand dunes as close as 3 feet from the houses.  The state suffered some damage from forceful winds and flooding but strategic sand dunes stood sentinel and protected the residents from the waves.

Georgia

Sandy’s impact on Georgia was less direct, according to the National Weather Service.  The state is still under a high wind advisory until 6 am Wednesday and a freeze warning has been issued from tonight. Most flights from Hartsfield-Jackson Airport have been delayed due to the storm. Emergency management officials from Chatham County, Savannah and Tybee Island areas have reported no extensive damage from the storm.

Maryland

Residents of the small state of Maryland seem to be experiencing all that the storm has to offer.  “We’re America’s weather in miniature today,” Gov. Martin O’Malley said at a news conference. “We’ve got the blizzard on one side. We’ve got the waves on the Atlantic, we’ve got the tidals and the flooding.”

More than 180,000 residents remain without power this morning and the waves continue to pound the state. 1200 people have been evacuated from coastal regions.

As a result of the power outage, raw sewage is leaking from a treatment plant in Howard County at the rate of 2 million gallons of sewage per hour.

State police have lowered  the speed limit to 45 mph on all interstates and U.S. routes “effective immediately and until further notice.”

A State of Emergency has been declared in Maryland.

Maine

Nearly 90,000 residents of Maine are without power this morning, mostly due to high winds.

Massachusetts

More than 322,000 residents of Massachusetts are without power this morning. State offices have reopened but residents are warned that high winds may continue throughout the day.

Voluntary evacuations were recommended for coastal residents.

New Hampshire

Over 234,000 residents of New Hampshire are without power this morning. Governor John Lynch has asked non-essential workers to stay home and for drivers to stay off the roads unless absolutely necessary.

New Jersey

Nearly 2 and a half million people are without power in the state of New Jersey due to high winds and flooding. At least three people are dead.

A levee has broken in Moonachie, flooding the streets with 4-5 feet of water. Thousands of people are awaiting rescue from the flood waters, some of whom have retreated to their roofs.  More than 85% of Atlantic City is flooded and parts of the famous Boardwalk have been washed away in the storm.

High winds blasted out the windows of an apartment building in North Bergen.

The country’s oldest nuclear power plant, located in Oyster Creek, was already closed for scheduled refueling. But high water levels at the facility prompted safety officials to declare an “unusual event” around 7 pm. At 9 pm the situation was upgraded to an “alert,” the second-lowest in a four-tiered warning system

New Jersey Transit is suspended indefinitely and all roads going in and out of Atlantic City are closed.

A State of Emergency has been declared in New Jersey.

New York

At least 5 people have died in New York as the result of the storm.

Nearly 2 million in New York City are without power. Con-Ed proactively shut off power to lower Manhattan and others lost power when a sub-station apparently blew up when flood waters reached it. No one was harmed in the incident.

New York University Langone Medical Center lost power late Monday. More than 200 patients were evacuated when  backup power failed, including newborns from a neonatal care unit. Nurses kept the babies breathing manually when respirators shut down.

More than 200 firefighters responded to a blaze that completely destroyed 50 homes in Queens.

Subway tunnels in Manhattan are flooded. The water in the tunnels will have to be pumped out once the flood waters subside, leaving the subway system completely disabled indefinitely. Tunnels and bridges leaving Manhattan are closed due to flooding and high winds. LaGuardia Airport and JFK Airport are both closed indefinitely, with their runways under water.

A construction crane atop a luxury high-rise snapped in the high winds Monday and is dangling precariously over West 57th St in  midtown Manhattan. The streets below the crane have been blocked off.

One unit at a nuclear power plant at Indian Point,  about 45 miles north of New York City, was shut down around 10:45 p.m. because of external electrical grid issues. The company says there was no risk to employees or the public, and the plant was not at risk due to water levels from the Hudson River, and another unit at the plant is still operating at full power.

A State of Emergency has been declared in New York.

North Carolina

The first American lives were lost to the storm off the coast of North Carolina.  A crew of 16 people aboard the historic replica of the  HMS Bounty was forced to abandon ship.  The Coast Guard fought 18 foot waves and 40 mph winds as, by helicopter, they rescued the crew  from lifeboats. A deckhand and the captain of the ship were swept out to sea. The body of the deck hand, Claudine Christian has been recovered. The captain, 63-year-old Robin Walbridge, is still lost at sea. The search continues for Captain Walbridge, as the Coast Guard reported that the captain and crew had put donned survival suits designed to keep them afloat and protect them from chilly waters for 15 hours.

North Carolina has sustained wave damage and sidewalks and roads have buckled in places due to the pressure of the storm. A winter storm is due to hit the area today and Governor Beverly Perdue has declared a state of emergency due to significant flooding. Many coastal residents are stranded in their homes with roadways covered by more than 3 feet of water. 17,000 residents are without power in North Carolina.

Pennsylvania

More than 1.2 million people in Pennsylvania lost power last night as the hurricane collided with the winter storm over the state. Philadelphians have been warned to expect 7-10 days before the power is restored.

75 mph winds across the state have compelled authorities to impose speed restrictions and ban vehicles like empty trucks and motorcycles from the roadways.

Three people have died in Pennsylvania as a result of falling trees.

A State of Emergency has been declared in Pennsylvania.

Rhode Island

More than 186,000 people in Delaware are experiencing power outages, with the highest concentration of those in the southern part of the state.  Dover Air Force Base relocated some of their aircraft in anticipation of the storm and the base is being used by FEMA as  a staging area for support and supplies.

A State of Emergency has been declared for Rhode Island.

South Carolina

South Carolina was pelted with heavy rain and lambasted by high winds but the state escaped severe damage from the storm.

Virginia

More than 150,000 are without power in Virginia this morning.  After yesterday’s rain, high winds and flooding, this morning the state is being hit with snow. Floodwaters have inundated the Hamptons area of the state, stranding residents.

The entire 37 square miles of Chincoteague Island are underwater and there is no way on or off the island. Authorities have told the 3500 residents who chose to remain on the island to stay in their homes until the water recedes.

A State of Emergency has been declared in Virginia.

Washington, DC

The nation’s capitol has been turned into a ghost town by the storm. Federal government offices were closed yesterday and all flights to and from Dulles International Airport were cancelled.

DC’s Metro transit system has remained closed today but officials say it has sustained no major damage.

Nearly a quarter of a million people have lost power in the Washington DC area.  The electric company, Pepco, will only begin working on restoring power when the wind  recedes to below 35 mph.

The Potomoc River is expected to overflow its banks today in the worst flooding for 16 years.

A State of Emergency has been declared for the District of Columbia.

West Virginia

More than 128,000 residents of West Virginia are suffering through a blackout while also contending with a blizzard. Up to a foot of snow has already fallen, with up to 2 feet due in high elevation regions of the Appalachians. 45 miles of Interstate have been closed due to blizzard conditions.

One person has died in West Virginia as a result of the storm.

A State of Emergency has been declared in West Virginia.

Editor’s Note:  We welcome reader contributions and photos.  Please use the “send us a tip” link at the top of the page to let us know how things are in your area.  Put “Sandy” in the subject line.  

We at The Daily Sheeple would like to sincerely wish the best of luck to all affected by this storm.  Check back throughout the day for updated coverage of the storm and its aftermath.