Obama calls on residents to heed orders ahead of Hurricane Sandy

http://www.rte.ie

President Barack Obama has warned that Hurricane Sandy is a "serious and big storm" and called on East Coast residents to heed the orders of state and local officials to protect themselves from its onslaught. President Barack Obama has warned that Hurricane Sandy is a "serious and big storm" and called on East Coast residents to heed the orders of state and local officials to protect themselves from its onslaught. Mr Obama was speaking after a briefing at the federal government's storm response centre in Washington. He said officials had assured him that they had all the resources they needed in place, and he stressed that "it is important for us to respond big and to respond fast" to the hurricane's onslaught. "We're going to cut through red tape and we're not going to get bogged down in a lot of rules," said President Obama, who was having to juggle both is re-election bid and his efforts to stay on top of the storm's impact just nine days before Election Day. Earlier today, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg ordered city schools to be closed on Monday and the evacuation of 375,000 residents who live in at risk areas ahead of Hurricane Sandy. The city's subway, bus and train services will be suspended from 7pm this evening. Mr Bloomberg said that areas of the city from City Island to Coney Island to Battery Park City were under mandatory evacuation because of approaching Hurricane Sandy. He said during a press conference that the mandatory evacuation applies to people in Zone A, which covers coastal areas. Weather forecasters have warned that Hurricane Sandy will affect a large area of the US east coast. However, forecasters said it was too early to pinpoint where the storm, which has the potential to be the biggest to hit the mainland, would make landfall. Residents have scrambled to buy supplies before the storm arrives on Monday night. On its current projected track, Sandy is most likely to make US landfall between Delaware and the New York/New Jersey area, forecasters said. However, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said it could not yet predict the precise point. "It is still too soon to focus on the exact track ... both because of forecast uncertainty and because the impacts are going to cover such a large area," the NHC said. While Sandy's winds are not overwhelming for a hurricane, its width is what has made it exceptional. Hurricane force winds extend 165km from its centre, while its lesser tropical storm-force winds reach across 1,125km. Sandy could have a brutal impact on major cities in the target zone, including Boston, New York, Baltimore, Washington DC and Philadelphia. The storm could cause the worst flooding Connecticut has seen in more than 70 years, said the state's governor, Dannel P Malloy. Sandy was located about 420km south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, with top sustained winds of 120km/h early this morning. Forecasters said Sandy is a rare, hybrid "super storm" created by an Arctic jet stream wrapping itself around a tropical storm, possibly causing up to 30cm of rain in some areas, as well as heavy snowfall inland. Sandy killed at least 66 people as it made its way through the Caribbean, including 51 in Haiti, mostly from flash flooding and mudslides. The White House said US President Barack Obama took part in a call with US Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Craig Fugate to discuss preparations for Sandy. The approaching storm forced a change of plans for both presidential candidates ahead of the election on Tuesday 6 November. Mr Obama has cancelled a campaign appearance in Virginia tomorrow and another stop in Colorado on Tuesday, and will instead monitor the storm from Washington. Republican challenger Mitt Romney cancelled a trip to Virginia set for today, when the state is expected to begin feeling Sandy's impact, and will go instead to Ohio. Some flights to US from Ireland cancelled The Dublin Airport Authority has said a number of transatlantic flights have been cancelled on Monday and Tuesday. Passengers with plans to travel stateside in the next two days are advised to contact their airline or airline's website before travelling to Dublin Airport. Aer Lingus has cancelled its flights to and from New York on Monday due to the severe weather anticipated. The following flights have been cancelled: EI-105 Dublin to New York and EI-104 New York to Dublin EI-111 Shannon to New York and EI-110 New York to Shannon EI-109 Dublin to New York and EI-108 New York to Dublin The airline has apologised for the disruption and has asked those scheduled to travel to visit its website.