There are legitimate reasons why Governor Christy wanted people out of Atlantic City.

...At 2:00 p.m. EDT (click here) on October 29, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported that Sandy was located about 110 miles (180 kilometers) southeast of Atlantic City, New Jersey, and about 175 miles (285 kilometers) south-southeast of New York City. The storm had maximum sustained winds of 90 miles (150 kilometers) per hour. The storm was moving toward the northwest at about 28 miles (44 kilometers) per hour. The NHC stated that Sandy could transition into a wintertime low-pressure system later in the day, but cautioned that this would not weaken the storm prior to landfall....

Mr. Romney never had experience with the Red Cross or was it just a feel good moment for the constituents.

Sandy is still alive and well. North Caroline is still receiving rain.

October 30, 2012
1230:18z
UNISYS Infrared USA Satellite (click here for 12 hour loop)

In NC this is day six. It is now raining as far west as Wisconsin and Illinois.

Very odd, UNISYS stopped posting the central pressures of Sandy.

I guess it doesn't exist anymore.

  29  37.50  -71.50 10/29/15Z   80   943 HURRICANE-1
29A  38.30  -73.10 10/29/18Z   80   940 HURRICANE-1
  30  38.80  -74.40 10/29/21Z   80   940 HURRICANE-1
+12  39.80  -76.60 10/30/06Z   65     - HURRICArtNE-1

Sandy is still part of a larger system. It what keeps it going. It still has an ocean component. The President and Governors needed to be commended. They did an incredible job with a very deadly storm. It is amazing. It could have been 1000 times worse without evacuations. I could not believe rail cars were on the NJ Turnpike. That is the velocity of sustained winds. It rocks huge things into submission. There is no way to project from that. The point is this storm is still persistent. Was is even more strange is its inverted shape. It is actually connected to water vapor from the Canada and the Arctic Circle while receiving heat energy from a warmer ocean.

It is a crazy storm.

October 30, 2012

1330:18z

UNISYS Water Vapor GOES East Satellite (click here for 12 hour loop)

The First Responders have done their job well and saved lives. Those safe should be considered grateful. The First Responders are still at risk and carry significant risk since this storm is not giving anyone a break.

Additionally, a storm is also coming into the west coast.

A hurricane's speed and path (click here) depend on complex ocean and atmospheric interactions, including the presence or absence of other weather patterns. This complexity of the flow makes it very difficult to predict the speed and direction of a hurricane.

In listening to Governor Christy there should be far more people dead. He did a truly remarkable job. He needs to take care of himself as well.

October 30, 2012

1310 gmt

The Weather Channel North Pole Satellite

Hurricane Sandy can be noted on the east one third of the USA. Its origins of water vapor is directly connected to the Arctic Circle border and Greenland.  It is also connected with a heat source in the Atlantic. There is a huge votex in the Atlantic and a heat transfer system bring adverse weather to the west coast of North America.

People's lives will be effected by this storm. If they rely on public transit to maintain their ability to work, they will be seeking support elsewhere to see them through. I know what a strange political environment this is in the USA, but, in all honesty for those effected by the loss of transportation to work should be considered a candidate for unemployment and relocation in the work force if employment is lost. This storm can't simply strand them economically.

I am sure President Obama will be putting forth a relief package before Congress to assist the states to return function to their infrastructure. We did with Katrina. Governor Christy saved lives, but, the future of his state and that of New York City will depend on clean up and rebuilding. One thing that can cut down on costs to the coastal areas is the removal of sand from the streets. It can be stored, cleaned and used for beach restoration, too. Just a suggestion.

New York and New Jersey have a lot of reconstruction to do.

The USA is a huge country and it doesn't stop. These events only prove how the tax structure requires improvement to bring all this under control. To think otherwise is purely hideous. There was economic stranding today and it includes the populous state in the union.

AP/ October 30, 2012, 9:07 AM

Superstorm Sandy: State-by-state snapshot (click here)

Carolinas

North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue expanded a state of emergency to western North Carolina, which could see a foot of snow.

A woman who was pulled from the Atlantic after abandoning a tall ship died. Power outages: 6,600....

Everytime I hear this ad in Michigan I think how angry this makes the international community.

Countries pay attention to their image with others. That is especially true of China. It is very vigilant to its image with The West. 

This ad is racist, full of lies and has no real indication of the relationship between China and the USA.

No one needs this. I don't believe it is effective at all. It can raise hatred with Chinese Americans and others. Lies leading to racism should never be tolerated.

Emergency lighting only. No connections to major power source yet,

That is sometimes the benefit of severe storms; they cut off electricity to places where major flooding occurs. It is not always a bad thing. It is a mean thing to say, but, storms sometimes protect the unwitting.

A few thoughts.

The crane is too damaged to venture into a large scale rescue of the crane. The structure is to unreliable. It is going to be a dangerous operation because the steel is under stress it was not intended to be. So, when further disturbed there is a lot of tension that will be relieved when it is manipulated. The stress on the steel when relieved can kill people.

That is to begin with.

I see this structure as a toppled tree. The safest way to remove this is through removal of small sections. I am talking about 8 to 10 foot sections. That means cutting through the steel to remove the dangling structure.

I see the dangling section of the crane as scrap metal. I don't think there is much choice. If there is a city that understands collapsed structures it is New York City with the dismantling of the twin towers. However, the structures in Lower Manhattan were crashed to the ground and mostly without unpredictable stress on steel.

In thinking about the subways, there are so many electrical structures involved it will be like working in a mine until the flood waters are gone and the structures dry out. Electricity is water loving and it will travel a long distance if released. Electricity is fluid as water is. It will travel along the waters and can cause deaths through the entire length.

This is a horrible example, but, it will work to illustrate what I mean.

A friend has a house on a pond nearby. A severe storm, called a 'blue lightning event' occurred. One stroke of lightning hit the pond. He was at his dinner table when it occurred. He stated the water lit up briefly and what followed next was out of The Twilight Zone. Every duck, goose and swan on the water was thrown into the air. The next morning after the storm passed and the electricity was knocked out to the entire community, which wasn't repaired for five day; the wildlife folks were dispatched to remove all the dead birds.

Electricity and water cannot be mixed without disastrous effect. That is the reality New York City has to work with.

Additionally, while animals such as rats won't necessarily survive the flood, there are others that love water including poisonous snakes. Some may have been pets, especially large Boas, etc. It will be best to have workers be aware of this possibility and wear dense protective rubber suits if venturing into water. However, suits can tear if caught on something unseen, too.

To say this is a difficult situation is an understatement.