New York evacuated - Thousands of flights cancelled

29 October 2012

'This is serious': New York evacuated as 'Frankenstorm' Sandy bears down

·         'Frankenstorm' death toll reaches 65

·         Thousands of flights cancelled

·         Obama says the storm is ‘‘serious and big’’

Tens of thousands of residents have been ordered to evacuate coastal areas as big cities and small towns across the US north-east brace for the onslaught of a superstorm threatening some 60 million people along the most heavily populated corridor in the nation.

If you don’t evacuate, you are not only endangering your life, you are also endangering the lives of the first responders who are going in to rescue you. 

‘‘The time for preparing and talking is about over,’’ Federal Emergency Management administrator Craig Fugate warned as a monster Hurricane Sandy headed up the Atlantic Coast on a collision course with two other weather systems. ‘‘People need to be acting now.’’

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has ordered the mandatory evacuation of 375,000 people in low-lying areas of the city and announced its subways, buses and trains would stop running.

‘‘If you don’t evacuate, you are not only endangering your life, you are also endangering the lives of the first responders who are going in to rescue you,’’ Mayor Bloomberg told a news conference on Sunday afternoon as he ordered the mandatory evacuation ahead of the storm, which is expected to start hitting on Monday, local time.