Superstorm Sandy hits US
30 Oct 2012
Sandy, one of the biggest storms ever to hit the US, roared ashore with fierce winds and heavy rain near the gambling resort of Atlantic City New Jersey, early today. The storm forced evacuations, shut down transportation and interrupted the presidential campaign.
At least a dozen people have been reported dead.
Hundreds of miles of the Atlantic coastline was hit by high winds and flooding with heavy snows forecast farther inland at higher elevations as the centre of the storm marched westward.
More than 3 million had to go without power with over a million subject to evacuation orders.
According to the National Hurricane Center, Sandy came ashore as a "post-tropical cyclone," meaning it still packed hurricane-force winds but lost the characteristics of a tropical storm. The storm created winds of 80 miles per hour (129 kph), well above the threshold for hurricane intensity.
The storm's target area included big population centres including New York City, Washington, Baltimore and Philadelphia.
