advisory on hurrican irene. we want to go to rob marciano who will tell us what this latest advisory is about. >> it's frightening, up to 85-mile-an-hour wind now. there's a possibility from reading some nuggets from the national hurricane center that it could strengthen some more. we knew we had that possibility. still over the gulf stream where waters are still warm enough to sustain a hurricane. also getting into an environment where it favored strengthening. that's what we've seen. here it is in the satellite picture. 85-mile-an-hour winds. that's a moderate strength category one storm with possible

strengthening as we go through time. about 380 miles south of new york city it's movement has picked up northerly about 15 miles an hour and we still expect that turn toward the west later on. this is huge. reading some technical stuff, the tropical storm force winds, diameter nearly 800 miles wide. that is huge. the second largest tropical system we've seen in the last few decades. hurricane force winds extend 150 miles out. the amount of damaging winds is about 350 to 400 miles wide. so, that's wind of over 55 miles an hour. that is a huge swath of real estate that will be impacted by damaging winds when this thing makes its way onshore. here's the latest forecast track from the national hurricane center. hopefully our graphics are updated here. it hasn't changed a whole lot. the only thing that's changed is it may come on as slightly

stronger hurricane or post-tropical storm strength hurricane meaning right now we're getting into the colder air. that temperature contrast and jet stream because of that temperature contrast will add more fuel to the fire here in the next 12 to 18 howard. things continue to unfold along theiercy coastline. the dell mara is where we expect landfall or just north of that along the south jersey coastline. we're probably about 50 positive 100 miles from where this is expected to make landfall. governor christie had a number of things to say to his constituents in new jersey. straight-talking governor. another sound bite from him. >> we want everybody to stay off the roads. we can't emphasize this enough. don't try to go out and be a hero or act as if nothing he's going on. it's important. we need to have you stay inside.

>> coastal communities have been evacuated. from what we've seen so far here, soledad, the citizens of new jersey have taken heed to that warning given by the governor yesterday. 85-mile-an-hour wind, strengthening, category 1, sandy, and strengthening possible as it makes its way to the northeast coastline later today. >> thank you for the update. we're in columbus circle. you can see over my shoulder is central park. yesterday around 5:00 in the afternoon they started closing the park, kicking everybody out. the big issue is the trees. they lost some trees in hurricane irene. entire mass transit system as well for new york city has been shut down. that means there are no subways running. no buses running. there are no trains running. thousands of people have been ordered out, evacuated from the low lying coastal areas in brooklyn and in lower manhattan as well.

john berman is in battery park. got coastal flooding from hurricane irene. this time around it's expected to be significantly worse? >> significantly worse. they're saying the storm surge could be 6 to 11 feet higher. there was a study out of column brie ye bum bee yeah university saying had storm surge been 1 foot higher, it would have cost an additional $50 billion in damage. a storm surge 2 feet higher would come up to my knees, flood the subway system, the electrical grid. mayor michael bloomberg said he's considering shutting down two electrical networks taking out power to 17,000 people. but it could be much higher than that. it's early calm, as it should be.

people are staying in about 76 storm shelters where they've gone to hotels or to crash with friends. mayor michael bloomberg almost begged people to get out of their home. let's listen. >> i can't stress enough this is for your own safety. if you refuse to evacuate, you're not only putting yourself at risk but first responders who will have to assist you in an emergency. >> now, again, the storm surge expected to be 6 to 11 feet high. the real trouble spot, the time to watch high tide tonight, around 8:350 tonight. we have full moon so high tides could be higher. if that storm surge comes at the wrong timing during high tide with the full moon, that's when it could be particularly dangerous. >> john berman for us watching what's happening in lower manhattan. i should add to the long list of closings i read to you earlier,

public schools, private schools are out of session. they canceled them for today, possibly tomorrow as well. we want to get to george howell in kill devil hill in the outer banks. update us on what you're seeing, george. >> we're talking about an area here that's been under these conditions for the last 72 hours. less of the rain and sand yesterday coming through but definitely still feeling the winds. wind gusts anywhere from 30 to 40 mile per hour at times. there's a real concern about two things. first of all, storm surge. we know there was a beach a few days ago. we walked that beach. it's no longer there. you can see how quickly the atlantic has risen given this storm. they're expecting anywhere from 4 to 6 feet of storm surge on the atlantic side. the sound side, there's worry about this storm is shifting wind directions, pushing water

into different places and causing flooding. as it did with irene when it passed through. of great importance, off the coast from us about 90 miles from the outer banks, 160 miles from eye of the storm there's a ship at the mercy of the ocean with 17 people on board. it's a sailing ship. the u.s. coast guard has regained communications with them. they know where that ship is. now it's a matter of trying to get out there. a sailing ship that last propulsion. people on that ship are at the mercy of the waves so they're trying to get out to them. >> what a horrible thing, on a tall ship -- >> and the waves. >> and without propulsion. hopefully emergency people can rescue the 17 people on board. we'll talk to emergency officials who will tell us about their preparations this morning. also we'll be talking with the

governor of connecticut, dana malloy will talk to us about what's happening in connecticut, what their emergency preps look like. governor o'malley will join us live from maryland, maryland's governor, to tell us what they are doing to plan for the storm. you're watching special coverage of hurrican irene. we'll update you on everything that's happening. their "destina" double miles you can "actually" use. but with those single mile travel cards... [ bridesmaid ] blacked out... but i'm a bridesmaid. oh! "x" marks the spot she'll never sit. but i bought a dress! a toast... ...to the capital one venture card. fly any airline, any flight, anytime. double miles you can actually use. what a coincidence? what's in your wallet? [ all screaming ] watch the elbows ladies. wanted to provide better employee benefits while balancing the company's bottom line, their very first word was... [ to the tune of "lullaby and good night" ] ♪ af-lac

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i'm a robot. i know. i know you're a robot! but there's more in you than just circuits and wires! uhhh. (cries) a machine can't give you what a person can. that's why ally has knowledgeable people there for you, night and day. ally bank. your money needs an ally. welcome back. you're taking a look at live pictures from kill devil hills in the outer banks in north carolina. george howell reporting there from us this morning. he's been watching developments there. he has reported for us that hurrican irene has been camped out there a little bit and they've been feeling the effects. not only high wind but the storm surge covering up at least one beach. we want to get to sandra endo, ocean city, maryland, with how it looks there. good morning.

>> reporter: good morning. mandatory evacuation order has been in effect for downtown ocean city and we've seen unrelenting rain and wind. the wind gust is up to 45 miles per hour at some points. now, take a look. this is something new this morning. it's three hours from high tide and you can see the ocean. waves are fierce, big and rough. this is the first time we're seeing them actually lap onto the sand dune here protecting the shoreline and the property line from the water. clearly, this is only going to get worse because we are three hours away from high tide. the rain is not giving up here. we're about 100 yards from the property line. that's certainly a big concern for residents and local officials here in ocean city. they see the storm surge is really what is going to be the biggest threat in this area, soledad. >> sandra endowatching things in maryland. appreciate it.

we'll continue to get update. right now let's get to jim redick, director of emergency operation center in norfolk, virginia, by chesapeake bay on the eastern coast of that state. nice to talk with you. give me a sense of what your emergency preparations look like right now. what are you expecting? >> sure. as far as emergency protective actions, we've opened up shelters. we have four shelters with folks in there. we opened parking garages and work with norfolk public schools and private sector partners in terms of providing safe havens on higher ground so those living in low-lying areas are able to park their vehicles there. we closed do flood walls and working with our community partners. we're woging as one team here, public, private, not for private, higher education and military working together to respond to this incident.

the current status, as was just reported, we're expecting a lot worse later today, around 9:30, 10:00 with high tide over 7 feet. winds are looking up. sustained wind of 39 miles per hour, tropical force wind levels. with the saturated ground and flooding, we're expecting more downed trees and power outages. >> it sounds dire as we check in with folks like you, who are in charge of security and precautions and emergency operations, are you feeling comfortable and confident with everything that you've got and how you prepared at this point? >> sure, sure. you can't plan for every contingency and we have partnership in place to get through any adversity that will come our way. we feel good with where we are. we have aa good idea of what's

coming. we'll be able to get to whatever sandy brings to us. >> we're glad to hear jim redick, director of emergency operation in norfolk this morning. right back to zorida a look at other stories making news. >> good morning. hurricane sandy is having an impact on the presidential race. with just eight days until election day, both romney and obama campaign have suspended e-mail fund-raising in some states in the storm's path. virginia, pennsylvania, new jersey, north carolina and the district of columbia. both candidates kansas selled campaign events scheduled for virginia. president obama garnered the support of the blade in toledo ohio. pittsburgh post gazette and detroit free press. mitt romney was endorsed by the des moines register in des moines and the press enter vice in riverside, california. and it is a san francisco sweep.

the giants beat detroit tiger last night to win the world series in four straight. game four went extra innings. san francisco winning. pablo san val was named the series' mvp. he says this years he year's giants were special. >> it's a team. i say thank you to my teammates to give me opportunity to be here. the two last series, you know, winning six, six, you know, elimination games is tough. >> it is the giants de world series title, this all in the last three year. soledad? >> good news for them. thank you very much for that update. we'll continue to get to zorida. we have special coverage of hurrican irene expected to make landfall in new jersey some time this evening. we're monitoring advisories as

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. welcome back. taking a look at live pictures from ocean city, where sandra endois reporting.

we continue to monitor progress of hurricane sandy as it makes its way toward landfall. expected some time this evening in new jersey. behind me, columbus city, everything has been shut down. central park, people were kicked out at 5 p.m. yesterday. schools in new york as well have all been shut down. markets as well. christine romans has an update on what is a very unusual thing, right, christine? the last time this happened, unplanned closing of the markets was 9/11, correct? >> incredibly rare to see the new york stock exchange shut for physical trading on the floor as well as electronic trading. the last time we saw it for a weather-related event was 198 5 and hurricane gloria. only a terrorist attack and major, major storm shut down the trading floor.

the nymex, where we trade oil futures, that's in evacuation zone in lower manhattan will be shut as well. one in five americans lives in the path of this storm. they're not thinking about their 401(k), they're thinking about their property as we saw retail surge. some $87 billion of homes in the path of a storm surge, bringing in the insurance companies into this part of the story. that will be part of the economic impact from the storm. we'll be closely watching as all of this area has to be checked on the other end. a water and wind event so we'll be watching later tomorrow how much personal property is damaged because of this from the water and rare wind. the stock exchange is closed. a lot of activity over the

weekend from the stores and the like. you'll see that taper off today and tomorrow and pick up as people pick up what's broken and damaged. and flight cles you'res. all airlines are offering fee-free changes. don't bother going to the airport. that's where we sit with the economics of the story. you can get a lot of economic activity on the way into the storm, nothing, damages, and then a lot of economic activity coming on the other side as you clean up. >> as folks were preparing in new york yesterday, stores were running out of things. i don't have a flashlight. i couldn't find one. they didn't have any more flashlights so we're stuck without them. you're right, as people wait for the impact of the storm.

hurricane ee reasirene for thosw york city, felt it was overhyped. that had a lot of damage. like $15 billion. even when it doesn't -- not perceived to be a massive storm, the cost can be huge. >> the water expectations are much higher for this storm than irene. irene was also a water event. had you flooding up and down the mid-atlantic and northeast. this will be a water event. water events are so expensive and so tricky. i will point out, you can't do anything except presumably you prepared, you're shelter in place. find your homeowners insurance documents right now, put them in a ziploc. if a tree is on your roof, you want to know your coverage, who to call, you can do that while you wait for storm to hit. make sure you have the homeownership insurance and documents in order. >> i couldn't find a flashlight so i worked on that instead perform christine romans

updating us on what the financial impact could be. lots of closures to talk about here in new york, the subways are closed, central park has been closed, no trains as well. schools are closed. lower manhattan, big evacuations for brooklyn and lower manhattan. john berman willup date us what's happening there. 375,000 people have been evacuated from low-lying areas. we'll update you on what's happening with this storm as we wait for hurricane sandy to make landfall. we're expecting that this evening. cnn the place to be to get the latest on this storm. i'm a conservative investor. i invest in what i know. i turned 65 last week. i'm getting married. planning a life. there are risks, sure. but, there's no reward without it. i want to be prepared for the long haul. i see a world bursting with opportunities. india, china, brazil, ishares, small-caps, large-caps, ishares. industrials. low cost. every dollar counts. ishares. income. dividends. bonds. i like bonds.

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morning. i'm soledad live from columbus circle. cnn special coverage of hurrican irene. 50 million people are bracing for this epic storm. we are expecting it will make landfall tonight. >> i'm john berman live in the ee skr evacuation zone in lower manhattan. storm surge as high as 11 feet high. >> hurricane sandy causing both presidential nominees to change campaign. cnn's special hurricane coverage starts right now on "early start". welcome. you're watching cnn special continuing live coverage of hurricane sandy as this monster of a storm is closing in on the northeast. one coast guard official is

seeing two possible scenarios playing out today. he says it could be bad or absolute devastation. both of those scenarios very, very bad, obviously. take a look right now at hurricane sandy, category 1 hurricane. nearly 1,000 miles wide. an estimated 50 million people in an 800-mile area are expected to be impacted by this storm. cnn has hurricane sandy covered like no other network. i'm in midtown manhattan near central park. john berman is near lower manhattan. rob marciano is covering new jersey for us. where landfall is expected to be. he's in asbury park. in ocean city, sandra endois monday toring what's happening there. george howell is monitoring kill

devil hills in north carolina. we'll be talking to emergency officials who are in norfolk, virginia, and atlantic city. we'll be talking to dana malloy, connecticut governor, from hartford. martin o'malley will join us from maryland this morning as well. we want to begin with rob marciano. as i mentioned, he's in new jersey, asbury park. a little ways north of where landfall is expected. what are we looking for timewise for landfall for this storm? >> timing hasn't changed. maybe moved up a few hours. some time tonight, 8:00, 10:00, maybe minute night for landfall to happen. south of us, 50 to 100 miles. you mentioned we're north of where we expect the center to make landfall. this storm will be so big and different from other tropical storms we've covered. you don't want to look at where it's going to hit.

the wind are so big with this thing that hundreds of miles on either side of it you'll see damaging winds and latest stats indicate it has strengthened to 8 5-mile-an-hour winds. you 800 miles in width as far as tropical storm strength. they're feeling winds in atlanta. they'll feel winds across the great lakes. waves on michigan may reach 25 feet. at least two feet of snow behind this thing in west virginia. an extraordinary event and expected to make landfall later on tonight. it's about 380 miles south of new york city. and conditions will continue to deteriorate. they're boarding up in atlantic city. there's already been some flooding in ocean city. seabright at the entrance of new york harbor, they're making prep

there. that will be a hard-hit area. the storm surge something along the coastline we're very concerned about here in jersey, anywhere from 4 to 8 feet of storm surge. that will bring the water up and over the board walk at asbury park. up and down the coastline, coastal residents have fled in evacuation zones and governor chris christie had strong words for his constitute yepts yesterday. here's what he had to say. >> so don't be stupid, get out and go to higher, safer ground. the margin of error of me being wrong and you staying at a friend's house for a couple days is significantly better than winding up with severe yr or death for yourself or your family. >> always a straight talker. people are certainly taking that advice. we mentioned the storm has strengthen.

bare m 900 millibands, tying the record for the hurricane 75 years ago that did so much damage to this area. >> behind me in new york city, it's so early in the morning, this is not usually a bustling area this early in the morning but you don't even see cabs. nobody's on the street. that's a little unusual. what kind of damage -- i know you talked about the impact on the coast. what kind of damage are they thinking about with high wind in new york city. nobody has boarded up their windows. i look at these scaffolding everywhere and it makes me really nervous. what do you think? >> it should make you nervous. the higher up you go, you know, you add a category of storm, if you go up about 30 stories. that's always a concern when you talk about the winds with this thing. now that it's interacting with a strong jet stream, the winds off hurricane force are greater, at least hurricane gusts will be as

far north as new york city, maybe as far north in some cases as boston. there's reason to be worried and reason for -- basically you have an evacuation zone and live in new york city or anywhere near the coastline, just shelter in place. just hunker down and if you -- if your home is surrounded by some tall trees later on this afternoon and tonight, you'll want to think about getting down to the lowest level of your home, into the interior section in case a tree fall on your house. if you have a story above you to protect you, that's certainly going to be a wise choice to make. lots of concern, soledad. yeah, from the city to countryside, people need to be self-aware and take care of their business over the next 24 hours. >> right. rob marciano watching it all. appreciate that. flash flooding is also something people are concerned about. power outages as well. one number we've heard is 10 million people could lose power in the wake of this storm.

chesapeake pay is already feeling the impact of the storm. people in flood prone areas have been ordered to get out. sandra endo, tell us a little bit about what you're seeing. >> we're here in ocean city, maryland, soledad. they have had a mandatory evacuation order for downtown here in ocean city as of last night. right now we're feeling the wind and rain. here's what's new this morning. take a look at the water. the coastline, it's not even high tide and you can see the waves. they're fierce. those are the biggest we've seen so far. they're certainly approaching the protective sand dune right there. this is the first time we've seen it come up onto that sand dune. there's about 100 yards from that sand dune to the property line here in ocean city. so, that's certainly something officials and residents are going to be keeping a watchful eye on. as we've been talking about this

storm surge is the biggest threat for areas like this one. they're talking about the effects of this storm, coupled with the high tide and full moon that could add up to a major storm surge. flooding, possible power outages that could last for days. sandra endoin ocean city, thank you. here in new york where we haven't had any rain or big wind gusts sandra and george howell have been reporting for us but the impact of hurricane sandy has been felt in a big way here in new york city in terms of closures. the entire mass transit system has been shut down here in new york. 375,000 people have been evacuated from the low-lying flood-prone areas in brooklyn and lower manhattan. life-threatening storm surge is predict, a storm surge of 11 feet. john berman has updates for us

in term of what's happening, from battery park city. good morning. >> as you said, completely empty down here. no taxicabs, nobody walking on the treat. i saw waun lone cop looking to see if anyone is left out here. no, 375,000 people, mandatory evacuation orders in lower manhattan and the other boroughs. the big concern is the storm surge, 6 to 11 feet high. that's a full 2 feet higher than hurricane irene. there was a study out of columbia university saying had hurricane irene been one foot higher, it could have cost an additional $50 billion in damage. the flooding could coming up easily where i'm standing. it would go into the subway tunnel, flood the electric at system. mayor bloomberg last night practically begging people to leave their home. loots listen.

>> i can't stress enough that this is for your own safety. if you refuse to evacuate, you're not only putting yourself at risk but also the first responders who will have to assist you in an emergency. >> we're not talking crashing waves. high tide is at about 8:50 p.m. if the storm surge comes at that time, it could be worse. full moon so the tide could be higher. the moon is pretty high. we have high tide at :30 this morning. it's about 2 feet below the sea wall. if that crashes over tonight, that is when there could be real problems. >> john berman watching that are to us. appreciate the update. coastal residents in the southeast among the very first in the united states, konltd negligence united states, to feel the prunt of hurricane

sandy. 12-foot waves pounded the outer banks of north carolina. some roads are urnlgd water. today at high tide they expected there could be more flooding as well. evacuations have been ordered for parts of the lower banks. let's get right to kill devil hills, north carolina, in the ourer banks where cnn's george howell is reporting for us. george, how's it looking for you? >> soledad, good morning. we're talking about an area that has been under these conditions for the last 72 hours. we're seeing the wind gusts come and go but they have backed off compared to the other day. less rain, less sandy coming, that sideways rain but we're expecting more rain showers as we're still under the effect of this storm system. the two big things that officials are focused on this morning, fi of all, the storm surge. you can't see it out there. you'll be able to see it in a few hour, you'll be able to see where the water level are. you know, there was a beach out there. the beach is gone.

the atlantic has risen quite quickly. and storm surge in this area could be 4 to 6 feet. the further south you go, could get up to 7 feet. on the other side, on the sound side, they're expecting a real possibility of flooding as they saw with irene. as this storm continues to chase wind directions, pushing water into different places could cause. 3 to 5 feet of flooding. at this hour the u.s. coast guard has identified a three-masted sailing ship about three miles north of hatteras from where we are in the outer banks, 160 miles from the eye of the storm pe with we know 17 souls are on board and the u.s. coast guard is trying to get to them to get them off. they regained communication with them. again, this ship lost propulsion and is floundering at the mercy of the sea. they are trying to get to the people and get them off. >> george, let me ask you a

question about that. i know the details are very sketchy but i understand the tall ship is from the movie in the 1960's "mutiny on the bounty." what were they doing in the days with the storm approaching, 17 people in the water? >> when i saw that picture, that was the same question i had. we're trying to figure that out. we're talking about a ship that apparently has been out there for quite some time. don't know how long. but for some reason lost propulsion and from what we've read from the u.s. coast guard, we're not able to move. right now it's a matter of getting to the people and getting them off as quickly as possible. these conditions, you see winds pib picking up. this won'ten an early task. >> george howell monitoring that. appreciate that update, george. atlantic city is where we'll be focusing next. they shut down casinos there.

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wow, that is mmm... it's so mmm you might not believe it's a hundred calories. new yoplait greek 100. it is so good. welcome back. you're watching cnn's live continuing coverage of hurricane sandy as it heads to the northeast to make landfall. you're looking at ocean city in maryland right now. you can see waves and high wind. sandra endois reporting for us. we'll continue to check in for us. we to want get to spokesperson for american red cross in atlantic city, new jersey nj. the state of new jersey has already ordered casinos shut down. they had to evacuate a number of people, residents and visitors to atlantic city. how many folks do you have right now in shelters?

>>. >> at this time i don't have the exact count. we have many, many shelters open up and down the eastern seaboard. and right now i am staying back with the essential personnel in at lactic city and the city is, as you said, under mandatory evacuation. while the rain is pouring down and the wind is blowing hard, highways are completely empty. and today red cross is urging everyone to make their final preparations, as millions could lose their power for several days. part of the plan, people should download our hurricane apps and first aid apps to have emergency info at their fingertips. this will include information as the nearest shelter closest to them. and updates on weather and also

an "i'm safe" button that will let their loved ones they're okay. >> are you finding that the folks, since they've told visitors to evacuate and told residents to evacuate, are you finding most people are heeding the warnings? yes, absolutely. last night at atlantic city convention center, a designated evacuation point, where people without transportation could take a shuttle bus inland. i spoke with an elderly woman who was packed with all of her essentials. she boarded the bus she said, it is better to evacuate safely to a shelter than to have regrets. she had been here with hurricane irene. and just knew that when the evacuation orders came out from the emergency managers that they needed to heat them. and it was a very orderly egress. this morning, looking out the windows, the highways are completely empty.

>> and anybody who thinks this is going to be a redo of hurricane irene might have another thing coming to them because we're told by every measure this is going to be significantly worse. catherine is with the red cross from atlantic city, new jersey. thank you for your hurricane preps. we have to take a short break. we'll talk about what the impact of hurricane sandy is on the election. remember, it's just a week from tomorrow. we'll talk about that straight ahead. [ male announcer ] when this hotel added aflac

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morning. welcome back. you're looking at a live picture of the empire state building. obviously, in midtown manhattan. no fears at this point that buildings as far inland in new york city will be at risk of major flooding from the -- because they're obviously not on the coastal areas but 375,000 people from the low-lying coastal areas, south of that building right there, have been ordered to evacuate. we're about 20 blocks north in columbus circle in central park where we're watching what's happening as well as we expect hurricane sandy to make landfall some time this evening. we have interesting picture to show you what's happening all around new york city. the subways are shut down completely. these are incredible photographs of subway and commuter rail systems. very unusual to see them absolutely empty.

there are something like a little over 8 million people who ride the subways and commuter trains. nowhere to be seen, nowhere to be found. the platform is empty. they were shut down yesterday at 7 p.m. they told everyone they would shut down at 7 p.m. >> good morning to you, soledad. mindful of the potential impact of hurricane sandy both romney and obama campaigns have suspended e-mail fund-raising in state in sandy's path, so virginia p pennsylvania, new jersey, north carolina and the disdistrict of columbia. the storm to create havoc with early sloeting. maryland's governor canceled early voting in his state, for today.

meanwhile, polling centers would be a top priority for restoring power if it is lost. two out of three ain't bad? the san francisco giant are world series champs for the second time in three year and completed a sweep, fourth title in team's history. congratulations to them. >> absolutely. thank you. still ahead, we continue cnn's live continuing coverage. special coverage. of hurricane sandy as it's expected to make landfall this evening. we'll monitor every advisory and shoi you the rad loop, what you can expect and all a-ha. with the spark cash card from capital one, sven's home security gets the most rewards of any small business credit card! how does this thing work? oh, i like it! [ garth ] sven's small business earns 2% cash back on every purchase, every day! woo-hoo!!! so that's ten security gators, right? put them on my spark card!

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good morning. welcome, everybody. you're watching cnn's live, continuing coverage of hurricane sandy. right now it is a storm that's expected to impact some 50 million people. it is being called a superstorm. i'm soledad o'brien. i'm coming to you right on the edge of central park in midtown manhattan. this morning we're talking about hurricane sandy and tracking its every move. it's taking aim at the most populated part of the united states, the northeast. bracing for huge storm surge and gale force winds i'm john burrman live by new york harbor inside the evacuation zone as this city prepares for a major threat to lives and livelihoods. and the race for the white house blown off course. i'm zoraida sambolin. just eight days to go and sandy is forcing both campaigns and some voters to make some changes.

cnn's special hurricane coverage starts right now on "early start." welcome, everybody. you're watching our special hurricane coverage. i'm soledad o'brien coming to you live from midtown manhattan. we're tracking this monster of a storm as it continues to bear down on the northeast, and specifically we'll take a look here from new york city. you can see look at this radar picture, just how massive and intimidating this storm is. nearly 1,000 mile wide. hurricane force winds extending out for 175 miles. it's a category 1 storm. it started turning toward the coastline. that happened earlier this morning. and it's expected to make landfall in southern new injuresy late today, maybe even early tomorrow. but most are predicting late today. expected impact, 50 million people. now the hurricane's already creating misery. take a look at north carolina. the sheer force of the storm sending 12 foot waves crashing into some homes along the coast. that threat has been really there, according to george

howell for 36 to 72 hours and is expected to remain for days. subways, schools shut down in washington, shut down in baltimore, shut down in philadelphia, shut down here in new york. the markets closed, as well. wall street completely shut down. cnn this morning has hurricane sandy covered for you. john berman, you saw him a moment ago in battery park city in lower manhattan. right in the center of the evacuation zone. he'll tell us about what they're expecting there. rob marciano is in asbury park in new jersey. he's going to update us on how it's looking and give us the latest on the forecast and the advisories. sandra endo is in ocean city in maryland. we've seen some high winds and stormy conditions there. george howell is monitoring what's happening in kill devil hills in the outer banks of north carolina. throughout this morning, as well, we're going to be talking to emergency officials in norfolk, virginia, in philadelphia, in newark, new jersey, in atlantic city. the connecticut governor will join us, along with maryland's governor martin o'malley. he'll be with us as well.

we begin with rob marciano. the winds from the last advisory are upgraded to 85 miles an hour. new jersey, in fact pretty close to where rob marciano is standing right now. new jersey is expected to take a very big hit. let's talk a little bit about what your area, asbury park is expected to get. the people have been talking about the storm coming on perpendicular to the coastline. what kind of an impact, if it does that, what would that mean? >> well, you've got waves that are going to be coming directly onshore. you have wind that is directly pushing all that water yont shore. and even as early as last night at high tide the water was lapping up against the boardwalk. that is extremely unusual for that to happen. so we have already had two and three foot storm surge and the storm itself over 300 miles away from our position. so when it comes onshore tonight, you can imagine just how large that storm surge is going to be. but the roads behind me will be overwashed for sure. and communities up and down the

coastline of jersey have taken caution and a lot of them have evacuated. ocean city, new jersey, one ireport was sent in, flooding already happening there. so this storm is so big, we've already started to see the storm surge flooding several tide cycles before it makes its way onshore. seabright, new jersey, that is just south of new york harbor. they are boarding up there, as well. that has a number of rivers that dumps out into the mouth of the harbor. that's going to be a hot spot as far as storm surge is concerned. and atlantic city down to the south, closer to where the center of this thing is expected to hit. the casinos are all closed. only the fourth time since legalized gambling has been instituted there, that they have closed down the casinos. a virtual ghost town there in atlantic city. they're expected to see a storm surge. the center of this thing expected to come onshore somewhere down there. let's go over the stats and take you through the track. the satellite picture shows you just how large this system is. as soledad mentioned the circulation of tropical storm

force winds nearly 1,000 miles in diameter. damaging winds about 300 miles. we're going to see some serious destruction with this and certainly widespread power outages. the forecast hasn't changed much other than it could strengthen even more here over the next 12 to 18 hours. expect it to come onshore this evening or maybe close to midnight. around the delmarva. and we're seeing a lot of the heaviest rain and biggest winds on the southwest side of this storm. so even folks a couple hundred miles to the south of this feeling the brunt of it. and hundreds of miles outside of that also, so, that's the important thing here, soledad, not to focus necessarily on the point of where it's coming in, because folks 100 or 200 or even 300 miles away, places like boston harbor, long island sound, the way that long fetch, you asked me about the perpendicular nature of the windses. all the watt along long island sound is going to be pushed directly towards laguardia. the southwestern tip of

connecticut, in to new york harbor and we are likely to see a muchish much greater storm surge than we did when hurricane irene came through this area just a little over 12 months ago. soledad? >> rob, let me ask you a question. it's cold. you and i have covered many hurricanes together. like a lot. and usually it's significantly warmer. the fact that it's so cold, what kind of an impact will this have on that storm? >> it's going to make it more miserable for one thing. what it does, as this thing transitions into a more winterlike scenario or a bare clinic energy source, meaning we go from something that derives its heat from the tropical, warm waters of the ocean to something that now begins to see some energy from the temperature differences that we see at the northern latitudes this time of year. meaning hot and cold, cold fronts. stronger winds in the jet stream. that's just going to invigorate this system and transition into a larger system that's going to impact folks across hundreds of miles of coastline. and also the great lakes. chicago's going to see winds

from this. atlanta's going to see winds from this. and the western slopes of the appalachians will see over two feet of snow with the backside of this system before it's all said and done. an extraordinary event no doubt about it. we're in for it for the next 36 hours. soledad? >> rob marciano. appreciate the update and the information, as well. want to get to john berman in lower manhattan. i've been watching a lot of the pictures coming in to us from further down south and you can see major flooding of roads. you can see high winds and choppy seas. we haven't seen any of that here yet in new york. but there is an impact, which is mainly, you know, closings. >> that's right, soledad. no storm surge, no flooding. yet. but the mayor here, and city officials, they want people to get ready. that is why they ordered the mandatory evacuation of some 370,000 people from low-lying areas. lower manhattan right where i'm standing, also the other boroughs right now. people have moved to some 76 storm shelters throughout the

city. they're crashing with friends who live in different parts of the city. also they've moved into hotels. mayor michael bloomberg, he said he wants people out of these areas for their own safety. also the safety of emergency workers. let's listen to what he said. >> a lot of people say, oh, well, i'm just going to tough it out, if down the road you can't tough it out and we have to come in with our first responders saving you, those people can't -- those first responders put their lives in danger and aren't available for true emergencies. now is the time to take this kind of sensible precaution. >> now the threat here is storm surge. again, 6 to 11 feet high. not crashing waves. but slow, steady, rising along with the high tide, which will be about 8:30 tonight with this full moon. if it hits really badly it could flood this entire area. flooding the subway system and the electrical grid. that's what they're concerned about, soledad. >> john berman for us, appreciate it. let's get to sandra endo in ocean city, maryland.

evacuations have already been ordered. sandra, good morning. >> good morning, soledad. take a look. i just want you to see what's going on behind me. the waves are huge out here. and this is the first time we're seeing them actually overtake the sand dune. you can see starting this area is starting to flood a little bit on the other side of this protective dune. this is the first time we've been seeing these waves this big. it's not even high tide yet, and that's certainly a big concern for this area right along the coast here in ocean city. and right now we're experiencing a steady wind of about 30 miles per hour. the rain, also unrelenting. we've been out here for the past 24 hours, or so. and it's just been nonstop. as you mention and you're talking to rob, it's cold out here, as well. very different feel than other hurricanes we've all covered. so clearly this is an interesting one and i can tell you just standing out here for hours last night, and today, it's taken on a different personality. at times the wind has changed

directions. at times the gusts have been so strong. so clearly it's kind of unpredictable what the night is going to bring to us, really, when hurricane sandy approaches land. but, again, this is the big concern for residents here. the tide, the high tide, the full moon, and this long duration of this storm just drenching this area. that's certainly going to be a concern in terms of the storm surge. soledad? >> sandra endo reporting for us. let's get to george howell in kill devil hills in north carolina which is the outer banks. evacuations there. we've seen pretty dramatic pictures of flooding. 12 foot waves, as well. >> soledad, good morning. a few minutes ago we heard rob talk about the southwest side. the strong winds from the southwest side of this storm. well you know, for the last three days that's what we've been experiencing. started with the northwest side of the storm, now dealing with the southwest side of the storm. still getting the strong wind gusts. still getting rain and showers from time to time. what it's caused out here,

flooding. in okracoke island, inundated from the storm surge. they're worried about storm surge on the atlantic side. 4 to 6 feet of storm surge. the beach is gone. also on the sound side, they're keeping an eye on the possibility of flooding, as the winds shift. those winds are pushing water in different places, and could cause up to three to five feet of flooding. also soledad, want to talk about this three-masted sailing ship. we've been keeping our eye on this. this is a ship that was used in the movie "pirates of the caribbean." it was built for the movie "mutiny on the bounty." this ship is out there about 90 miles from hatteras, about 160 miles from the eye of the storm. 17 souls on board. it's a ship that lost propulsion and is foundering at the mercy of the waves, mercy of the sea. the coast guard, they've identified where the ship is. they are doing their best to get to the people on board to get them off. again a developing situation. dangerous situation given what's happening out there right now, soledad.

>> oh, my goodness. all right, george. we're hoping that they're able to get some rescue workers out to them and get them off that ship, especially as this storm is getting ready to make landfall. george howell in kill devil hills. thank you, george. ahead we're going to take a look at what's happening in virginia. we're going to talk to the manager for norfolk city, marcus jones will be our guest. also the governors of maryland, and the governor of connecticut. they'll tell us what they're doing to try to protect their citizens in their state. that's all ahead. [ female announcer ] ready for a taste of what's hot?

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maryland. take a look at the high winds that this storm churning there. and the rain, as well. they've been dealing with that for awhile. and as sandra reports, been intermittent, strong and sometimes less strong. want to get to norfolk, virginia. city manager marcus jones declared a city of emergency for his city on friday. marcus jones joins us this morning. thank you for being with us, sir. certainly appreciate it. tell me a little bit about what the situation is in norfolk right now. >> sure. this morning, basically, during the last day and a half we have witnessed flooding in low-lying areas. but those are areas that typically flood. we've had a community-wide approach basically with the public and private sector coming to the. including the army national guard and the school system. so we've been working for the last three days in preparation for this. >> how have you found people heeding the warnings that have been coming, especially since you're already declaring a state

of emergency on friday? >> sure. i really have to take my hat off to the employees. especially public safety officials who have gone door to door and talked with the residents, advised them to be safe because the water will continue to rise. we've set up shelters, and in those shelters, we've been able to move some of our residents to those shelters in preparation for what will occur today. >> we're hearing a number, 10 million, and i understand that it's an estimate of how many people would lose power. what are you doing in your community to try to help folks if they lose power? >> sure. i would again i have to say how good the employees in that department have been. it's really been educating folk and trying their best to let them understand that this is a serious event and opening up shelters across the city, including transportation.

that's really been our preparation the last few days. >> marcus jones is the city manager, norfolk, virginia. thanks for talking with us. we appreciate your time. we wish you the very best of luck as you weather this storm. ahead this morning i'm going to talk a little bit more about what mr. jones was just talking about, power outages. as i mentioned 10 million is the number of people who are estimated to be without power at the end of this storm. what are power companies doing about it? back with more on that. [ female announcer ] food, meet flavor. flavor, meet food. it's time for swanson flavor boost. concentrated broth in easy to use packets. mix it into skillet dishes, for an instant dose of... hell-o! [ female announcer ] get recipes at flavorboost.com. prand you're seeing that rightno quit in amnow.a... hell-o! over five million new jobs. exports up forty one percent. home values... rising. our auto industry... back. and our heroes are coming home. we're not there yet, but we've made real progress and the...

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welcome back, everybody. you're watching cnn's continuing live coverage of hurricane sandy. now hurricane winds could knock out power to an estimated 10 million people along the northeast. if the hurricane goes as is now being expected. you'll remember, in the last hurricane, hurricane irene, there were people who lost power for two weeks. what could be the implications of 10 million people losing power in the northeast? let's get right to christine romans. she's got an update on that. >> good morning to you, soledad. and remember the big public utilities in the northeast had two dry runs for this, quite frankly. last year hurricane irene and that big snowstorm of 2011 that took power out for so many people for so long, as well. the president of new jersey's public service electric and gas company, the state's largest publicly owned utility provides power to three quarters of the garden state. he's on the phone with me right now and it's called the garden state, sir, for a reason.

because you have square miles full of mature trees and full foliage right now, which means that when you get a lot of wind and a lot of water, that means downed power lines. what are you preparing for? >> well, that's what we're preparing for. we have crews on stage. we've brought crews in from outside to help us out. we're prepared for not just the trees you mentioned but some of this historic flooding that we're expecting, problems for us up and down the rivers in new jersey, along the hudson and potentially could flood out some of our substations. >> the full brunt of this, what you're expecting late tonight into tomorrow, what should people do if they've got power outages or they see downed power lines? last year there was some criticism of the utilities because, you know, new jersey residents, people in connecticut, for other utilities, they couldn't get through to people. there wasn't good communication. what's going to be better this time? >> well, you know, we've reinforced all of our communications with our municipal officials.

that's where most of the concerns came from last year. we try to work through our new jersey state organization down in trenton that coordinates the oem services across the state of new jersey. they coordinate with our county representatives and then down through the municipalities with reinforced that chain of command. the governor did that yesterday, and we're going to continue to follow that throughout the course of this storm. but for individual customers, we continue to urge them to call us when they see downed wires as well as when they have power outages. folks assume many times that we have, you know, instant knowledge that their power's out but that's just not the case. >> you asked more than 1300 linemen and 600 tree contractors to be ready once the winds die down, when do you expect you will have men and women in up in the buckets, restoring power, cutting trees, getting things going? you basically have to wait at this point, right? >> that's correct. we have folks that will be out, like i mentioned, some of the

flood stages and some of the earlier concerns that we may have that transpire along the storm here, but we won't be putting people up in the air to actually restore power until the winds die down to at least 45 miles an hour. >> ralph larossa. soledad you look at so much of the northeast, is in full -- still in full foliage right now. the leaves still haven't come down on some trees. that makes it that much more difficult because there's just so much weight to pull a tree down. >> that's going to be a mess. the predictions this far out are, are, are pretty dire about that. hopefully people will heed that at vice. certainly appreciate. still ahead we're continuing to monitor cnn's continuing live coverage, special coverage of hurricane sandy. we continue to monitor this epic storm as it churns toward the mainland. it's headed right now right for the new jersey shore. and with 11-foot surge that's possible in lower manhattan we'll update you on how people in new york city are preparing for this storm. that's right after this break.

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good morning, welcome everybody. some 50 million americans alone the east coast are bracing for what is being called an epic storm. i'm soledad o'brien coming to you live from midmountain manhattan in columbus circle. right over my shoulder is central park. as we continue to monitor this breaking story. sandy is being called a once in a lifetime storm. and it will not be long until she slams into new jersey. we're expecting landfall to be sometime this evening. welcome back, everybody. you're watching cnn's continuing, live coverage. >> this storm is 1,000 miles wide, packing potentially deadly winds. i'm john berman live in the evacuation zone in new york harbor. what officials here are most concerned about, a storm surge, as much as 11 feet high, that

could swamp this area, threatening lives and livelihoods. >> and with just eight days remaining until the election, the race for the white house takes a back seat to sandy. i'm zoraida sambolin. hurricane sandy forcing the candidates to cancel campaign stops. it's creating havoc for voters, as well. cnn's special hurricane coverage starts right now on "early start." >> good morning, welcome, everybody. you're watching our breaking news, which is the continuing live coverage of hurricane sandy, as it heads toward new jersey. that's where it's expected to make landfall sometime this evening. one coast guard official tells us he sees this scenario, which you're watching on your screen right there, playing out over the next 24 hours in a couple of ways. he said it could either be bad or it could be devastating. obviously neither one of those is a very good option. if you look at sandy you can see the category 1 hurricane is roughly 1,000 miles wide. hurricane force winds are extending out from the eye about 175 miles.

they're predicting that 50 million people in an 800 mile area will be impacted by this storm. so i'm here live in columbus circle in midtown manhattan on the side here of central park. john berman, he's reporting for us this morning in lower manhattan. in the area that has been evacuated. rob marciano is in asbury mark in new jersey. sandra endo is in ocean city maryland. george howell is in kill devil hills. we'll be updating with them and talking to emergency managers in virginia, in philadelphia, in newark, new jersey, atlantic city, as well and the connecticut governor dannel malloy will be joining us. and maryland's governor will join us. 50 million people, that's the number of people, who are expected to be affected from the mid-atlantic states to canada, as well. they're in the path of sandy. just south of here, on the jersey shore. one of the biggest concerns is

flooding. potentially catastrophic flooding is what they're talking about along with significant and maybe even record-setting surge. some spotds have already seen some water creep in. all that brings us to rob marciano who is updating us with the very latest on what is happening with hurricane sandy. rob, good morning. >> good morning soledad. you mention the water creeping in. the water lapping up against the boardwalk. already, before this storm was even within 500 miles of the shore, we had the storm surge hanging two to three feet. not only here but places like ocean city, new jersey, have seen some flooding. a prestorm storm surge. that's how big this system is. we've already seen several tide cycles before the storm is scheduled to make landfall. what kind of preps are going on here? they're boarding up in places like seabright just south of new york city harbor. an area where a number of rivers confluences in florida, and storm surge flooding in through

the harbor. not only that but long island, and long island sound is going to be a problem there. atlantic city to our south, closer to the landfall area is where they're boarding up, as well. wind gusts, we've already seen winds gusting over 30 miles an hour here in asbury park. down to the south, in atlantic city, and places like north carolina, seeing winds. gusting over 30 miles, as well. the tropical storm force winds extend nearly 400 miles from the center. diameter of 800 miles of tropical storm force winds. even though this thing is over 300 miles out we're starting now to see the tropical storm force winds make their way inland. as far as the storm surge is concerned, that is where we're concerned here along the atlantic seaboard of new jersey. we could see 4 to 8 feet of surge when this thing makes its landfall tonight, with not only high tide, but high tides that's also correspond with the full

moon. which makes it even higher. and we will see surges across long island sound, connecticut, and new york harbor that will exceed hurricane irene and that will spell all sorts of different problems. i'm sure john berman will go over. >> all right. we'll be checking with him in just a moment. rob marciano for us. thank you, that's how it looks in new jersey. let's turn to connecticut now. 300,000 homes along the coast are expected to flood in the wake of hurricane sandy. we're told the estimated winds will be somewhere between 40 and 60 miles an hour. over the next 36 hours or so. we want to get right to connecticut's governor dannel malloy joins us now. you said, sir, good morning to you. >> good morning. >> you said the last time anyone saw anything like this before is never. how worried are you about the impact of this storm for your state? >> well, we're really worried. the reality is we have two additional tides, noontime thereabouts and one at midnight which are the most frightening.

the one tonight is by far the worst. because by that time the compounding winds pushing water down long island sound, plus the surge, has the ability to double the amount of water in long island sound, say over what irene had. so we're talking about, if that happens, catastrophic damage being done to the coast of connecticut, the direction that the wind will be blowing in. >> i know that there are already some 450 people who made their way in to shelters. are you feeling that a number of the people are heeding all the warnings that have been posted by state officials not only in your state, but really all up and down the northeast? >> well, you know, if preparation for a storm is making sure everybody knows the danger, and preloading assets to respond in a recovery, we're ready for this. we have 30 towns that have ordered evacuations, some mandatory, some voluntary, along the shore. depending on how close to the water people are. it's a tough storm to get people to pay attention to in some

senses. because it's four tidals. one last night, we have one today, we have one tonight which is the most serious concern and another one tomorrow. getting people to pay attention through all of those cycles of ups and downs in the water is tricky. that's why we are communicating the heck out of this thing. >> no, i notice. i think another reason that people might have a hard time buying it, if that's the right phrase to use, is we all remember hurricane irene and there was lots of dire warnings about it and then it kind of came and went with significant damage to very specific places but a lot of people felt it had been missed. do you think you're getting that message out to folks, this is nothing like hurricane irene? >> well, you know, connecticut didn't dodge irene. we had 1.1 million people out of power. some for as many as 11 days and we had a lot of destruction of homes along the shore, particularly in the new haven, east haven, west haven area. that area is braced. i think we're getting the most response in that area, but we

expect today's tide, the one at noon today, could be in the area of the 1992 perfect storm backup in long island sound. that's going to be a big wake-up call for people if that happens, as so what tonight could be, which is far worse. >> connecticut's governor dannel malloy with us this morning. thank you, sir, for your time. i know you're really busy with all your preparations. we appreciate it. >> thank you. >> let's go right to john berman in lower manhattan. he's in an area that has been evacuated because there are big concerns about a big storm surge. something like 11 feet. john? >> soledad, so many of the same concerns you just heard from governor malloy of connecticut. the storm surge here could be 6 to 11 feet. that's a full 2 feet higher than we saw during hurricane irene one year ago. and that hurricane did flood this area, minor flooding then. this time it could be major flooding. there's one study out of columbia university said had hurricane irene been one foot worse it could have caused $50 billion in damage.

this expected to be two feet worse than hurricane irene. mayor michael bloomberg ordering mandatory evacuations for some 370,000 people in the low-lying areas including lower manhattan and the outer boroughs here. he told people, practically begged people to get out of their homes. let's listen. >> i can't stress enough that this is for your own safety, and that if you refuse to evacuate, you're not only putting yourself at risk, but also the first responders who will have to assist you in an emergency. >> high tide is at 8:50 p.m. tonight. the full moon here, that high tide is even higher than usual. that is the moment they'll be watching here to see if that storm surge pushes the water up over the seawalls right now. i can tell you the water is only about two feet from the top of the wall right now so it doesn't have far to go. soledad? >> meanwhile, john, i have to say, even though the storm surge is what we're really concerned about, as we wait for this thing to make landfall, everything's closed. you know, usually this -- i'm in

midtown, and where you are, too, usually there's taxis everywhere. people are just, you know, the early birds start getting into work. everything's shut down. they've shut down most of the businesses in the buildings, subways shut down as well. what else is shut down by where you are? >> there's nothing open down here. this is the mandatory evacuation zone. so people have been told to leave, the hotels are shut down. everyone's joking about starbucks. most starbucks in the city shut down last night so you can't get coffee anywhere. that's trivial. the important thing is not to be out on the street today. the subways are closed, schools shut down. there are about 76 evacuation centers. if you're in them already, terrific. if you're not in them yet city officials say they'd rather have you stay in place. so this is nothing to be trifled with. >> thanks for that update. live pictures from ocean city, maryland. we're going to be getting a closer look at what they're doing in maryland. there's a blizzard warning that's been issued for the state's west side. west end. we're going to talk about storm surge and flooding concerns with

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welcome back, everybody. this is what it looks like in ocean city, maryland. these are live pictures. you can see the choppy water, and the steady rain that's been in maryland through the last many hours. let's get right to maryland's governor martin o'malley. 23 emergency shelters, sir, are open across your state. thank you for talking with us. we appreciate it. how are things looking? how prepared do you feel? >> well, we've been preparing for the last 72 hours. we have a lot of out-of-state power crews from texas,

mississippi, from all over the city, that are here to help us with the recovery effort. the preparation has been pretty intense. we've mobilized roughly 500 national guard. and, you know, we are prepared, and we've had some evacuations of some low-lying areas, and all of that has gone smoothly. we're bracing for this huge storm, and it looks like it's going to be taking that turn that was predicted and it looks like it's going to cut right across maryland. >> yeah, it seems like it's really following the path that the forecasters had predicted. i hadn't seen anything that's sort of gone off the path. we've seen predictions, as well, for snow in the western part of your state. what's being done to prepare for that western part? because obviously snow adds another dimension to the storm. >> you know, our people out in garrett county, our westernmost county, are pretty hardy people. so they've been under a blizzard warning, actually, since last night. so there's a bunch of fronts all converging, it seems, on

maryland, and baltimore and the washington area. so, we have every emergency operation center that is up, and running in our state. we have 23 shelters that are up and going. and, you know, we have emergency operation center here that's fully activated. so we're urging people to please, stay off the roads. this is a really heavy rains and dangerous conditions. and people need to be mindful of their own families first, and stay home and hunker down here. this storm is likely, soledad, to sit on top of us for a good, long time. this is not going to be like a derecho or a fast-moving storm that rips through, and in a short period of time. it's a monster. >> it is a monster. that's what everyone is saying. using words like epic and superstorm to describe it. governor martin o'malley joining us this morning. thanks for your time, sir. know exactly how busy you are so we appreciate it. still ahead this morning how sweet it is, get it? we're talking about the san

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welcome back, everybody. you're looking at live pictures from kill devil hills in north carolina in the outer banks. they've had weather like this over the last 36 to 72 hours. we're going to bring you continuing live reports from across the east coast, as our special rool rolling coverage continues. first an update of some of the other stories making news. zoraida sambolin has that.

>> good morning to you. hurricane sandy's affecting the race for the white house, with just eight days until election day. both mitt romney and president obama have canceled campaign events in virginia. and both campaigns have

rains. for something like this, we could have potential big impact. we're making sure we're prepared. making sure we're ready and welcoming here in our red cross shelters if anyone needs a place to be to be safe. >> all right, dave schrader who is a communications director for the american red cross in the greater philadelphia area. thank you so much for joining us. stay safe yourself. everyone in that area, and along the east coast, really needs to be staying safe right now. we're hearing, as he said, some 10 million people could lose power in the next few days. that is a serious number. the storm surge here in lower manhattan very much a story as

sandy bears down on the east coast. that is all for "early start" this morning. our special coverage of hurricane sandy, a monstrous storm, continues right now on "starting point." good morning, welcome, everybody. a mega storm is hitting the east coast. it's called hurricane sandy, and it is expected to inflict a devastating damage along a 700-mile stretch of the most populated part of the united states, the east coast. i'm soledad o'brien. i'm in midtown manhattan this morning as we bring you our special coverage of hurricane sandy. tidal surge is a big concern for this area, and already we're seeing waves topple the protective sand dunes. i'll have more on that coming up. >> here on the outer banks of north carolina, we're dealing with flooding, strong winds, and