Hurricane Sandy is approaching the U.S. east coast, with winds of 140 kilometers per hour, threatening massive flooding and prompting the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people.
U.S. President Barack Obama has appeared on national television urging people in the storm's projected path to pay close attention to warnings from their local authorities and be prepared to leave their areas quickly, if requested to do so.
"The most important message that I have for the public right now is please listen to what your state and local officials are saying," Obama said. "When they tell you to evacuate you need to evacuate. Do not delay, don't pause, don't question the instructions that are being given because this is a serious storm and it could potentially have fatal consequences if people haven't acted quickly."
The storm is expected to come ashore late on October 29 or early on October 30, most likely in New Jersey.
Floods and power cuts could affect at least 50 million people.
Sandy is expected to combine with two winter weather systems which could cause snowfalls of up to one meter high.
PHOTO GALLERY: Hurricane Sandy's Landfall
Massive Storm Batters Northeastern U.S. Coast
1/22Workers place sandbags at Exchange Place in New Jersey.
At least 16 people in the northeastern United States and Canada have been reported killed as a result of heavy winds and widespread flooding caused by a massive storm. Hurricane Sandy was downgraded to cyclone status shortly after hitting land near Atlantic City, New Jersey, on the evening of October 29. However, it is still causing widespread destruction. Nearly 6 million people across the northeast are without power. The full extent of the storm damage is not expected to be clear until later on October 30. (22 PHOTOS)
2/22People stand on the beach watching the heavy surf caused by the approaching Hurricane Sandy, Cape May, New Jersey.
At least 16 people in the northeastern United States and Canada have been reported killed as a result of heavy winds and widespread flooding caused by a massive storm. Hurricane Sandy was downgraded to cyclone status shortly after hitting land near Atlantic City, New Jersey, on the evening of October 29. However, it is still causing widespread destruction. Nearly 6 million people across the northeast are without power. The full extent of the storm damage is not expected to be clear until later on October 30. (22 PHOTOS)
3/22Raymond Souza carries away a ladder after boarding up Tidal Rave's 5 & 10 gift shop on the boardwalk ahead of Hurricane Sandy's landfall in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
At least 16 people in the northeastern United States and Canada have been reported killed as a result of heavy winds and widespread flooding caused by a massive storm. Hurricane Sandy was downgraded to cyclone status shortly after hitting land near Atlantic City, New Jersey, on the evening of October 29. However, it is still causing widespread destruction. Nearly 6 million people across the northeast are without power. The full extent of the storm damage is not expected to be clear until later on October 30. (22 PHOTOS)
4/22The Statue of Liberty is seen in the background as tourists from Russia pose for pictures on top of sand bags protecting Battery Park in Lower Manhattan, New York.
At least 16 people in the northeastern United States and Canada have been reported killed as a result of heavy winds and widespread flooding caused by a massive storm. Hurricane Sandy was downgraded to cyclone status shortly after hitting land near Atlantic City, New Jersey, on the evening of October 29. However, it is still causing widespread destruction. Nearly 6 million people across the northeast are without power. The full extent of the storm damage is not expected to be clear until later on October 30. (22 PHOTOS)
5/22U.S. President Barack Obama speaks to the press after a briefing on Hurricane Sandy at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in Washington.
At least 16 people in the northeastern United States and Canada have been reported killed as a result of heavy winds and widespread flooding caused by a massive storm. Hurricane Sandy was downgraded to cyclone status shortly after hitting land near Atlantic City, New Jersey, on the evening of October 29. However, it is still causing widespread destruction. Nearly 6 million people across the northeast are without power. The full extent of the storm damage is not expected to be clear until later on October 30. (22 PHOTOS)
6/22A person walks through a park along the Hudson River across from New York's Lower Manhattan as rain falls in Hoboken, New Jersey.
At least 16 people in the northeastern United States and Canada have been reported killed as a result of heavy winds and widespread flooding caused by a massive storm. Hurricane Sandy was downgraded to cyclone status shortly after hitting land near Atlantic City, New Jersey, on the evening of October 29. However, it is still causing widespread destruction. Nearly 6 million people across the northeast are without power. The full extent of the storm damage is not expected to be clear until later on October 30. (22 PHOTOS)
7/22A woman and child walk through an aisle, emptied in preparation for Hurricane Sandy, in a Wal-Mart store in Riverhead, New York.
At least 16 people in the northeastern United States and Canada have been reported killed as a result of heavy winds and widespread flooding caused by a massive storm. Hurricane Sandy was downgraded to cyclone status shortly after hitting land near Atlantic City, New Jersey, on the evening of October 29. However, it is still causing widespread destruction. Nearly 6 million people across the northeast are without power. The full extent of the storm damage is not expected to be clear until later on October 30. (22 PHOTOS)
8/22A woman takes photographs of waves pushed onto a road by Hurricane Sandy in Southampton, New York.
At least 16 people in the northeastern United States and Canada have been reported killed as a result of heavy winds and widespread flooding caused by a massive storm. Hurricane Sandy was downgraded to cyclone status shortly after hitting land near Atlantic City, New Jersey, on the evening of October 29. However, it is still causing widespread destruction. Nearly 6 million people across the northeast are without power. The full extent of the storm damage is not expected to be clear until later on October 30. (22 PHOTOS)
9/22A New York Police officer guards a closed subway entrance in downtown Manhattan as Hurricane Sandy makes its approach in New York.
At least 16 people in the northeastern United States and Canada have been reported killed as a result of heavy winds and widespread flooding caused by a massive storm. Hurricane Sandy was downgraded to cyclone status shortly after hitting land near Atlantic City, New Jersey, on the evening of October 29. However, it is still causing widespread destruction. Nearly 6 million people across the northeast are without power. The full extent of the storm damage is not expected to be clear until later on October 30. (22 PHOTOS)
10/22Sandbags block the entrance of the New York Stock Exchange in downtown Manhattan as Hurricane Sandy draws near the city.
At least 16 people in the northeastern United States and Canada have been reported killed as a result of heavy winds and widespread flooding caused by a massive storm. Hurricane Sandy was downgraded to cyclone status shortly after hitting land near Atlantic City, New Jersey, on the evening of October 29. However, it is still causing widespread destruction. Nearly 6 million people across the northeast are without power. The full extent of the storm damage is not expected to be clear until later on October 30. (22 PHOTOS)
11/22A woman takes a photo at Beach 98th street on the boardwalk at Rockaway Beach in the Queens borough of New York.
At least 16 people in the northeastern United States and Canada have been reported killed as a result of heavy winds and widespread flooding caused by a massive storm. Hurricane Sandy was downgraded to cyclone status shortly after hitting land near Atlantic City, New Jersey, on the evening of October 29. However, it is still causing widespread destruction. Nearly 6 million people across the northeast are without power. The full extent of the storm damage is not expected to be clear until later on October 30. (22 PHOTOS)
12/22People walk by sand bags in front of a building in Times Square as Hurricane Sandy begins to affect the area in New York City.
At least 16 people in the northeastern United States and Canada have been reported killed as a result of heavy winds and widespread flooding caused by a massive storm. Hurricane Sandy was downgraded to cyclone status shortly after hitting land near Atlantic City, New Jersey, on the evening of October 29. However, it is still causing widespread destruction. Nearly 6 million people across the northeast are without power. The full extent of the storm damage is not expected to be clear until later on October 30. (22 PHOTOS)
13/22A car sits in a flooded street near the ocean ahead of Hurricane Sandy in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
At least 16 people in the northeastern United States and Canada have been reported killed as a result of heavy winds and widespread flooding caused by a massive storm. Hurricane Sandy was downgraded to cyclone status shortly after hitting land near Atlantic City, New Jersey, on the evening of October 29. However, it is still causing widespread destruction. Nearly 6 million people across the northeast are without power. The full extent of the storm damage is not expected to be clear until later on October 30. (22 PHOTOS)
14/22A flooded street between two casinos along the Boardwalk before the arrival of Hurricane Sandy in Atlantic City.
At least 16 people in the northeastern United States and Canada have been reported killed as a result of heavy winds and widespread flooding caused by a massive storm. Hurricane Sandy was downgraded to cyclone status shortly after hitting land near Atlantic City, New Jersey, on the evening of October 29. However, it is still causing widespread destruction. Nearly 6 million people across the northeast are without power. The full extent of the storm damage is not expected to be clear until later on October 30. (22 PHOTOS)
15/22U.S.Coast Guard Station Barnegat Light, New Jersey, and the surrounding area is shown flooded in this handout photo supplied by the U.S. Coast Guard as Hurricane Sandy moves into the area.
At least 16 people in the northeastern United States and Canada have been reported killed as a result of heavy winds and widespread flooding caused by a massive storm. Hurricane Sandy was downgraded to cyclone status shortly after hitting land near Atlantic City, New Jersey, on the evening of October 29. However, it is still causing widespread destruction. Nearly 6 million people across the northeast are without power. The full extent of the storm damage is not expected to be clear until later on October 30. (22 PHOTOS)
16/22Flood waters rush into the Hoboken PATH train station through an elevator shaft in Hoboken, New Jersey.
At least 16 people in the northeastern United States and Canada have been reported killed as a result of heavy winds and widespread flooding caused by a massive storm. Hurricane Sandy was downgraded to cyclone status shortly after hitting land near Atlantic City, New Jersey, on the evening of October 29. However, it is still causing widespread destruction. Nearly 6 million people across the northeast are without power. The full extent of the storm damage is not expected to be clear until later on October 30. (22 PHOTOS)
17/22Water rushes into the Carey Tunnel (previously the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel) in New York.
At least 16 people in the northeastern United States and Canada have been reported killed as a result of heavy winds and widespread flooding caused by a massive storm. Hurricane Sandy was downgraded to cyclone status shortly after hitting land near Atlantic City, New Jersey, on the evening of October 29. However, it is still causing widespread destruction. Nearly 6 million people across the northeast are without power. The full extent of the storm damage is not expected to be clear until later on October 30. (22 PHOTOS)
18/22A Con Edison worker walks through the flood waters on the corner of 33th Street and 1st Street in front of NYU Langone Medical Center in Manhattan.
At least 16 people in the northeastern United States and Canada have been reported killed as a result of heavy winds and widespread flooding caused by a massive storm. Hurricane Sandy was downgraded to cyclone status shortly after hitting land near Atlantic City, New Jersey, on the evening of October 29. However, it is still causing widespread destruction. Nearly 6 million people across the northeast are without power. The full extent of the storm damage is not expected to be clear until later on October 30. (22 PHOTOS)
19/22High surf on the Hudson River near the Statue of Liberty in New York
At least 16 people in the northeastern United States and Canada have been reported killed as a result of heavy winds and widespread flooding caused by a massive storm. Hurricane Sandy was downgraded to cyclone status shortly after hitting land near Atlantic City, New Jersey, on the evening of October 29. However, it is still causing widespread destruction. Nearly 6 million people across the northeast are without power. The full extent of the storm damage is not expected to be clear until later on October 30. (22 PHOTOS)
20/22A car drives through water driven onto a roadway by Hurricane Sandy in Southampton, New York.
At least 16 people in the northeastern United States and Canada have been reported killed as a result of heavy winds and widespread flooding caused by a massive storm. Hurricane Sandy was downgraded to cyclone status shortly after hitting land near Atlantic City, New Jersey, on the evening of October 29. However, it is still causing widespread destruction. Nearly 6 million people across the northeast are without power. The full extent of the storm damage is not expected to be clear until later on October 30. (22 PHOTOS)
21/22The "HMS Bounty," a replica of an 18th-century sailing vessel, is shown submerged in the Atlantic Ocean southeast of Hatteras, North Carolina. At least one crew member died and another, the captain, is still missing.
At least 16 people in the northeastern United States and Canada have been reported killed as a result of heavy winds and widespread flooding caused by a massive storm. Hurricane Sandy was downgraded to cyclone status shortly after hitting land near Atlantic City, New Jersey, on the evening of October 29. However, it is still causing widespread destruction. Nearly 6 million people across the northeast are without power. The full extent of the storm damage is not expected to be clear until later on October 30. (22 PHOTOS)
22/22"HMS Bounty" in a 2003 photo
At least 16 people in the northeastern United States and Canada have been reported killed as a result of heavy winds and widespread flooding caused by a massive storm. Hurricane Sandy was downgraded to cyclone status shortly after hitting land near Atlantic City, New Jersey, on the evening of October 29. However, it is still causing widespread destruction. Nearly 6 million people across the northeast are without power. The full extent of the storm damage is not expected to be clear until later on October 30. (22 PHOTOS)
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A state of emergency has been declared from North Carolina to Connecticut.
Public transportation is suspended in New York City and Washington.
The U.S. stock market will remain closed on October 30.
Two of the tunnels connecting Manhattan to New Jersey and the Holland and Battery New York City boroughs were ordered to close due to fears of flooding.
President Obama warned the consequences of the storm could last for several days after the hurricane itself has passed.
"Probably the most significant impact for a lot of people in addition to flooding is going to be getting power back on," he said. "We anticipate that there are going to be a lot of trees down, a lot of water."
Sandy has already killed more than 60 people after sweeping through the Caribbean.
Thousands of domestic and international flights in and out of the eastern United States have been canceled.
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