The US east coast is bracing itself for the arrival of deadly Hurricane Sandy after it swept through the Caribbean with winds of up to 110 mph.
New York City and Boston have been put on alert ahead of Sandy making landfall as a Category 1 hurricane.
Hardest-hit areas could span anywhere from the coastal Carolinas up to Maine.
High winds, rains and pounding surf are also expected across parts of Florida’s Atlantic coast, with the biggest impact lasting throughout today (Friday).
The hurricane left more than 20 people dead across the Caribbean as it hit Jamaica and left a trail of destruction across Cuba, including the historic city of Santiago de Cuba.
The Cuban government said that 11 people died in the storm, most killed by falling trees or in building collapses, including nine in Santiago de Cuba province and two in neighboring Guantanamo province.
Haiti’s civil protection office said nine people had died despite not getting a direct hit from Sandy, and one person was killed by falling rocks in Jamaica when the storm struck there on Wednesday.
The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s storm-prediction centre suggested that Sandy could be nicknamed “Frankenstorm,” due to upcoming Halloween celebrations and some of the freakish characteristics of the storm, Reuters reported.
Forecaster Bob Oravec said: “It’s going to be a high-impact event. It has the potential to be a very significant storm with respect to coastal flooding, depending on exactly where it comes in. Power outages are definitely a big threat.”