New Storm: Sandy-battered East Coast braces for cold

East Coast residents struggling to pick up the pieces after superstorm Sandy confronted new challenges Sunday: plummeting temperatures and the looming threat of another significant storm.

Millions in Northeast struggle after storm

Millions of people in New York City and other hard-hit areas will spend days or weeks recovering from a storm already seen as far more destructive that Hurricane Irene, which slammed into the same region a year ago. One disaster modeling company said Sandy may have caused up to $15 billion in insured losses.

Sandy's US toll climbs to 60; 10 million without power

The misery of superstorm Sandy's devastation grew Tuesday as millions along the U.S. East Coast faced life without power or mass transit for days, and huge swaths of New York City remained eerily quiet. The U.S. death toll climbed to 60, many of the victims killed by falling trees, and rescue work continued.

The storm that made landfall in New Jersey on Monday evening with hurricane force cut power to more than 10 million across the East and put the presidential campaign on hold just one week before Election Day.

MTA Chairman Joseph Lhota: Subway System Will Come Back As Soon As Possible

MTA Chairman Joseph Lhota said this morning that Hurricane Sandy created historic damage to the metropolitan region's transportation systems.

“I can say unequivocally that the MTA last night faced a disaster as devastating as it has ever faced in its history,” Lhota said at a press briefing with Gov. Cuomo.

WASHINGTON: Nuclear plants shut down units as storm hits coast

One of the units at Indian Point, a plant about 45 miles north of New York City, was shut down Monday because of external electrical grid issues, said Entergy Corp., which operates the plant. The company said there was no risk to employees or the public, and the plant was not at risk due to water levels from the Hudson River, which reached 9 feet 8 inches and was subsiding. Another unit at the plant was still operating at full power.

Sandy stranded by: storm delayed flights over 10,000

Hurricane Sandy grounded well over 10,000 flights across the Northeast and the globe, and it could be days before some passengers can get where they're going.According to the flight-tracking service FlightAware, more than 13,500 flights had been canceled for Monday and Tuesday, almost all related to the storm. By early Tuesday morning, more than 500 flights scheduled for Wednesday also were canceled.

North, MTA closed; service to be phased in

The entire Metro-North and MTA train system remained at a standstill Tuesday in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, and it could be days before service is completely restored. Some buses, however, will be rolling Wednesday.

Signal systems at several Metro-North stations along the Hudson Line were destroyed by flooding and will have to be replaced, Metro-North spokeswoman Marjorie Anders said. As a result, power was shut at the Tarry-town, Irving-ton and Spuyten Duyvil stations.

Sandy kills 5 in Pa-sylvania.; more than 1.5M lose power

Pennsylvania was battered by high winds but escaped major flooding from its heavy rains as a weakened Sandy churned across the state Tuesday.The storm plunged more than a million customers in the dark while leaving a trail of damage that included shore roofs, toppled trees and crushed cars. At least five deaths statewide have been blamed on the hybrid super-storm that walloped the East Coast.Utility crews are surveying the damage and launching a massive repair job to restore power to nearly 1.3 million customers across Pennsylvania.They warn it could take a week or longer to finish.

Soldiers Guard the Tomb of Unknowns During Hurricane Sandy Like a stone

Soldiers Guard the Tomb of Unknowns During Hurricane Sandy Like a stone inspirational picture making the rounds on the Internet today is reminding people of the service of the elite soldiers who guard Arlington Cemetery’s Tomb of the Unknowns in any kind of weather, even during Hurricane Sandy.   That the picture was actually taken in September is another matter, because even as Hurricane Sandy makes its way along the Eastern seaboard, soldiers are there, guarding the tomb in the fierce wind and rain.

Hurricane Sandy: Live Updates

11:05 AM EDT: Bloomberg announces re-opening of Eastside N.Y.C bridges.

11:05 AM EDT: “The two biggest challenges facing our city going forward are getting the mass transit system up and running and restoring power,” said Bloomberg.

Hurricane Sandy Live TEXT: NJ nuclear plant being monitored

9.46 pm: Lacey Township to keep the fuel cool
The Christie administration is monitoring the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant that lost part of its power and declared an “alert” due to rising water levels Monday night reports The Wall Street Journal.

Generators are powering the plant in Lacey Township to keep the fuel cool. Twenty-one alarms on the facility went out Monday night, though other warning signals were in place, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said in statement Tuesday.

Damage CNN Estimates Vary, But Multibillion Dollar Losses Certain

The risk modeling and consulting firm Equecat, based in Oakland, Calif., estimated late last night that Hurricane Sandy will have resulted in roughly $5 billion in insured losses, and about $10 billion in total economic damages. Both numbers could fluctuate significantly (CNN was suggesting damages could be as high as $15 billion; and Equecat's own Web site was still describing impacts of $10 billion to $20 billion in total damages, with between $5 billion and $10 billion in insurance losses this morning).

Hurricane Sandy moves in: New York City braces for storm with mandatory evacuations as Gov. Cuomo orders MTA to suspend subway, bus, rail service

City and state officials braced Sunday for a brutal beating by Hurricane Sandy, ordering all public transportation to shut down, city schools to shutter and all residents living low-lying neighborhoods to evacuate for higher ground.
Gov. Cuomo ordered the MTA to suspend all subway, bus and commuter rail service beginning Sunday evening and urged people to stay at home.


Also Sunday morning, Mayor Bloomberg ordered all residents of flood-prone areas — also known as Zone A — to evacuate their homes by Sunday afternoon, adding that all public schools would close Monday.

Hurricane Sandy: New York dangers and damages

More than 50 million people from the mid-Atlantic to New England braced Saturday for a potentially massive storm, as Hurricane Sandy churned northward on a collision course with another storm system that is sweeping in from the west.Clouds gather over New York late Saturday. At 2 a.m. Eastern Sunday, Hurricane Sandy was 360 miles southeast of Charleston, S.C. and dumping heavy rain along the coast of the Carolinas.

Hurricane Sandy: Five ways for avoiding hype

Hurricane Sandy resent pics

Dean’s hype outstripped the language and breathlessness of other organizations, ones that give tons of thought to just how they articulate the storm and the threat it may pose to the population. Thanks to some extended interviews with weather fiends, here’s a little cheat sheet on how to avoid overdoing the weather forecast.

Spain Earthquake, Disaster, Drilling Wells Linked In New Study Of Lorca Tragedy

Farmers drilling ever deeper wells over decades to water their crops likely contributed to a deadly earthquake in southern Spain last year, a new study suggests. The findings may add to concerns about the effects of new energy extraction and waste disposal technologies.

Earthquake in southern Maine rattles New England but causes no immediate damage or injuries damage earthquake today, maine earthquake, earthquake maine, earthquake boston, earthquake

activities have not been affected," said Alan Griffith, spokesman for Next EnergyEra Seabrook Station.

Jim Van Dongen, public information officer for the New Hampshire Department of Safety said New Hampshire 911 got about 1,000 calls in the first hour after the quake, but they later dropped off. He said no major damage was reported.

Brief, but noticeable shaking was felt in downtown Boston and the surrounding area.

ShakeOut about being prepared for earthquake

THE ISSUE: Earthquakes

OUR OPINION: South Carolina has reason for awareness, preparedness

A lot of focus on nature in South Carolina goes to thunderstorms, tornadoes and hurricanes. But on Thursday, South Carolina will be shaking.

More than a million participants from South Carolina and other Southeastern states are expected to be part of The Great ShakeOut. In South Carolina alone, 213,000 people have registered for the Great Southeast ShakeOut Earthquake Drill on Oct. 18. At 10:18 a.m., emergency officials will send out information about an earthquake on weather radio and other means, and they encourage people to practice what they would do if the ground started shaking.

South Carolina has reason to take note of the drill:

The state experiences approximately 10 to 20 earthquakes a year, according to geologists with the College of Charleston.

The epicenter of the largest earthquake ever to occur along the eastern United States seaboard was just outside Charleston on Aug. 31, 1886. The 7.3 magnitude quake devastated the region and was felt from Chicago to Cuba.

According to a study commissioned by the S.C. Emergency Management Division, an earthquake of similar magnitude would result in tremendous loss of life, severe property damage and extreme economic loss.

The T&D Region in particular should be aware of quakes.

The Bowman area is considered a central point for potential earthquake activity. The town is situated on the Middleton Place-Summerville Seismic Zone which, along with the Ravenel-Adams Run-Hollywood area near Charleston, experiences about 70 percent of the earthquake activity in the state, according to the S.C. Emergency Management Division.

And the region has been no stranger to quakes.

n People from Cope to Cameron felt an earthquake that hit 3.4 on the Richter scale on May 19, 1971. The only damage reported was broken windows.

n On Feb. 3, 1972, an earthquake hit the area again. Residents of Bowman confirmed the quake felt stronger than previous ones they remembered.

n Three earthquakes were reported in the Neeses area in 1992, the largest hitting 2.4 on the Richter scale. And a 2.3-magnitude quake occurred in Bowman in 1997.

n In March 2009, another 2.6-magnitude earthquake occurred halfway between Orangeburg and Aiken counties. No damage or injuries were reported, according to the S.C. Earthquake Education and Preparedness Program, sponsored by the College of Charleston and the S.C. Emergency Management Division.

n In 2011, as South Carolina was hearing early predictions of Hurricane Irene scoring a direct hit on the state, Aug. 26 produced the strongest earthquake felt on the East Coast in years. The U.S. Geological Survey says the quake ranks as the second strongest ever measured in Virginia.Near the epicenter, brick house walls cracked, and chimneys were thrown down or badly damaged, according to the USGS. Minor damage was observed from about Bristol, Tenn., to Roanoke, Va.

Local officials say they are as prepared as they can be for a quake, with rescue teams and emergency responders being trained regularly on structural collapse and emergency response. Thursday is your individual opportunity at preparedness.

Seismology, Disaster_accident, South Carolina, Great Southern California Shakeout, Baja California Earthquake, S.c. Emergency Management Division, Richter Magnitude Scale, Earthquake, Hurricane Irene, Emergency Management, United States Geological Survey