Emergencies declared amid Northeast forecast of superstorm, coastal residents ... - Washington Post

Hurricane Sandy, upgraded again Saturday just hours after forecasters said it had weakened to a tropical storm, was barreling north from the Caribbean and was expected to make landfall early Tuesday near the Delaware coast, then hit two winter weather systems as it moves inland, creating a hybrid monster storm.

Even if Sandy loses strength and makes landfall as something less than a hurricane, the combined superstorm was expected to bring misery to a huge section of the East. An 800-mile wide swath of the country could see 50 mph winds regardless of Sandy's strength.

Experts said the storm could be wider and stronger than Irene, which caused more than $15 billion in damage, and could rival the worst East Coast storm on record. On Saturday morning, forecasters said hurricane-force winds of 75 mph could be felt 100 miles away from the storm's center.

Up and down the coast, people were cautioned to be prepared for days without electricity. Several governors, including Connecticut's Dannel Malloy and New Jersey's Chris Christie, declared states of emergency. And airlines said to expect cancellations and waived change fees for passengers who want to reschedule.

Mandatory evacuations were under way in southern New Jersey's barrier islands, which people were ordered to leave by Sunday afternoon, and Christie ordered the evacuations of all Atlantic City casinos and said state parks would close.

"We should not underestimate the impact of this storm and not assume the predictions will be wrong," Christie said during a storm briefing Saturday in North Midletown, near the coast. "We have to be prepared for the worst."

In North Carolina's Outer Banks, light rain was falling Saturday and winds were building up to a predicted 30 to 50 mph. Gov. Beverly Purdue declared a state of emergency for some coastal areas, and a steady stream of campers and other vehicles hauling boats left the low-lying islands for the mainland. Residents feared a temporary bridge built after Irene last year poked a new inlet through the island could be washed out again, severing the only road off Hatteras Island.

In Ship Bottom, N.J., Russ Linke was taking no chances Saturday. He and his wife secured the patio furniture, packed the bicycles into the pickup truck and headed off the island.

"I've been here since 1997, and I never even put my barbecue grill away during a storm, but I am taking this one seriously," he said. "They say it might hit here; that's about as serious as it can get."