 Andrew Burton / Getty Images Trisha McAvoy carries bedding to her car while evacuating from her home in Brick Township, NJ., Tuesday due to an approaching storm. By NBC News staff, NBCNewyork.com and wire reports NEW YORK - A nor'easter storm closed in on New York and New Jersey Wednesday, threatening to inundate homes with water for a second time in the wake of Superstorm Sandy. High winds, which could reach 65 mph, could extend inland throughout the day, potentially causing further power outages and bringing down tree limbs. The Weather Channel's Tom Niziol said Tuesday that by Wednesday morning "we are already seeing rain working its way into the New York City area, its raining in Jersey, there are winds that are picking up across the region here." Niziol predicted that there would continue to be "rain shower activity" along coastal areas through Thursday, and snow in parts of the Catskills, Adirondacks and northern New England. "It is going to have significant impacts on areas that really don't need it," he said. In New York, Mayor Michael Bloomberg ordered police to use their patrol car loudspeakers to warn vulnerable residents about evacuating, one of a number of measures that the beleaguered city was taking even as weather experts said the storm could be weaker than expected. Some evacuations ahead of nor'easter; Mother Nature 'going to keep kicking us' "Even though it's not anywhere near as strong as Sandy — nor strong enough, in normal times, for us to evacuate anybody — out of precaution and because of the changing physical circumstances, we are going to go to some small areas and ask those people to go to higher ground," Bloomberg said Tuesday. The Federal Emergency Management Agency put a number to the storm's homeless in New York and New Jersey, saying 95,000 people were eligible for emergency housing assistance. In New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, more than 277,000 people have registered for general assistance, the agency said. Around 91,000 homes and businesses were still without power in New York City, NBCNewYork.com reported. Some refused to evacuate their homes ahead of the nor'easter, choosing to stick close to the belongings they have left. View more videos at: http://nbcnewyork.com. Nevertheless, weather experts had some relatively good news. As the storm moves up the Atlantic coast from Florida, it now is expected to veer farther offshore than earlier projections had indicated. From weather.com: Storm's city-by-city forecasts Storm surges along the coasts of New Jersey and New York are expected to reach perhaps 3 feet, only half to a third of what Sandy caused last week. While that should produce only minor flooding, it will still likely cause some erosion problems along the Jersey coast and the shores of Long Island, where Sandy destroyed some protective dunes. Outside of Manhattan, New York residents are still facing a power outage as temperatures drop and the region braces for another storm. NBC's Stephanie Gosk reports. New York City was closing all parks, playgrounds and beaches, as well as ordering all construction sites to be secured. Tuesday evening, the mayor ordered three nursing homes and an adult care facility evacuated from Queens' vulnerable Rockaway Peninsula because of fears the weather might knock out electricity already being provided by generators. About 620 residents were being moved. Sandy killed more than 100 people, mainly in New York City and New Jersey, and left millions without power. Want to help the recovery? Here's how While there have been a few reports of storm-damaged homes being looted, since the superstorm made landfall more than a week ago, police said overall crime had actually gone down. But nursing home worker Alex Ocasio wasn't convinced, and planned to ride out the latest storm in his first-floor Rockaway apartment — even after seeing cars float by his front door during Sandy. As the water receded, men dressed in dark clothes broke down the door and were surprised to find him and other residents inside, he said. "They tried to say they were rescue workers, then took off," he said. He put up a handmade sign — "Have gun. Will shoot U" — outside his apartment and started using a bed frame to barricade the door. He has gas, so he keeps the oven on and boils water to stay warm at night.  / Residents across the Northeast pick up the pieces after Superstorm Sandy killed more than 100 people in 10 states and left a trail of destruction. "It gets a little humid, but it's not bad," he said. "I'm staying. Nothing can be worse than what happened last week." Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said it wasn't wise to stay put. "I think your life is more important than property," he said. Police have arrested 123 people citywide since the storm blew in last week, 54 burglary arrests and 41 others stemming from gas line disputes, Kelly said. Most were in areas suffering from the storm. "You would think, under the circumstances, you would see much more," Kelly said. "We haven't seen that." Burglaries were up 6 percent citywide compared to the same period last year, but overall crime was down 27 percent, police said. The Associated Press contributed to this report. More content from NBCNews.com:
 |
11/07/2012
Sandy-battered NY, NJ prepare for new storm
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment