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28.10.12

Tens of millions of people in the eastern third of the U.S. in the path of a massive freak storm had braced Sunday for the first raindrops that were expected later in the day, to be followed over the next few days by sheets of rain, high winds and even heavy snow.

 The warning from officials to anyone who might be affected was simple: Be prepared and get out of the way.

 Hurricane Sandy was headed north from the Caribbean, where it left nearly five dozen dead, to meet a winter storm and a cold front, plus high tides from a full moon, and experts said the rare hybrid storm that results will cause havoc over 800 miles (1,300 kilometers) from the East Coast to the Great Lakes.

 The danger was hardly limited to coastal areas. Forecasters were far more worried about inland flooding from the storm surge than they were about winds. Rains could saturate the ground, causing trees to topple into power lines, utility officials said, warning residents to prepare for several days at home without power.

 States of emergency were declared from North Carolina, where gusty winds whipped steady rain on Sunday morning, to Connecticut. Delaware ordered mandatory evacuations for coastal communities by 8 p.m. Sunday.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo ordered New York City's transit service to suspend bus, subway and commuter rail service starting at 7 p.m. (2300 GMT) Sunday in advance of the storm. The city closed the subways before Hurricane Irene last year, and a Columbia University study predicted that an Irene surge just 1 foot (30 centimeters) higher would have paralyzed lower Manhattan.

President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney overhauled campaign plans Sunday to avoid a massive hurricane churning up the U.S. Atlantic coast nine days before Nov. 6 balloting in their extremely close race for the White House.