New York prepares for the worst from Sandy

MarketWatch: New York prepared for the worst Sunday as two powerful storm systems, guided by Hurricane Sandy, headedtoward the nation’s most populous city, where heavy rain, strong winds and flooding were expected to hit as early as late Sunday. Mandatory evacuations were not in effect in New York, but the order could come on Sunday, when officials expect to have a better idea of where Sandy would strike. A decision on whether the city’s mass transit system would close will also come late Sunday.

“We’re planning for the worst; we’re hoping for the best and decisions on this will be made tomorrow,” Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chairman Joseph Lhota told a Saturday news conference

Sandy weakened overnight into a tropical storm then strengthened again into hurricane with sustained winds of more than 75 miles an hour. Another system that often results in severe winter storms moved across the nation from the worst, and was expected to boast Sandy’s strength. The hybrid storm could impact as many as 50 million people, according to published reports.

In New York City, Mayor Michael Bloomberg told a Saturday afternoon press conference the city would very likely feel Sandy’s effects for several days, with flooding and bridge closures to be expected. Bloomberg said the city was not requiring evacuations of low-lying areas especially at risk for flooding, saying officials should have a better idea of where Sandy would hit late Sunday afternoon or evening. “If it were to hit land in Baltimore or in Nantucket, New York would just have some heavy winds, and a little bit of flooding, and a lot of rain; if it were to hit closer to home, the flooding, the rain and the winds will all get much more problematic,” Bloomberg said....

The World Financial Center in Manhattan, built on landfill and vulnerable to flooding. Shot by Fanghong, Wikimedia Commons,  under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license