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| Official photographic portrait of US President Barack Obama (born 4 August 1961; assumed office 20 January 2009) (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Hurricane Sandy on Saturday threatened the eastern United
States with heavy rain, strong winds, heavy flooding and power outages, just
over a week before the presidential elections in the world's largest economy.
Experts anticipate that Sandy, a slow-moving storm whose
winds tropical extend 1,050 kilometers, could generate waves of 1.2 to 2.4
meters in Long Island Sound, the southern part of the bay of New York and
Delaware.
Is likely to accumulate in some areas up to 12 inches of
rain.
As is combined with a jet stream from the Arctic,
meteorologists say that Sandy has all the ingredients to become a so-called
"Super Storm", unlike what has been seen for decades in the eastern
United States.
Governors in several states along the East Coast declared
states of emergency and called on citizens to hold food, water and batteries.
The storm, which strengthened in the hectic run-up to the
U.S. presidential elections of November 6, presents a challenge to the
campaigns of President Barack Obama and his Republican rival, Mitt Romney.
Because Sandy, Romney rescheduled their planned campaign
events on Sunday in Virginia and moved to Ohio instead. Meanwhile, the Obama
campaign announced that Vice President Joe Biden canceled a trip scheduled for
Saturday at Virginia Beach.
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS
Millions of Americans are taking advantage of the electoral
arrangements to cast their vote early. State officials said they have
implemented contingency plans in the event of extended power outages or other
problems could disrupt the vote.
The White House said the president convened a meeting with
Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, the director of the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Craig Fugate and other officials to discuss
the government's actions by storm.
In New York, the authorities considered suspending public
transportation-buses, subways and commuter railroads, and bridges and tunnels
close to the threat of Sandy.
Decisions related to the transport system is likely to be
taken on Sunday, said the director of state operations, Howard Glaser.
A potential closure could begin at 7 pm Sunday, when the
last departing trains. The whole system should be closed around 3 am on Monday,
officials said.
Sandy was centered about 540 kilometers southeast of
Charleston, South Carolina, and had maximum sustained winds of 120 kilometers
per hour on Saturday afternoon, said the National Hurricane Center.
Sandy already made disasters in the Bahamas and eastern Cuba
during the past two days, with at least 41 dead. Now moving slowly north and
then on Sunday expected to turn to the United States.
