Ongoing Updates on Hurricane Sandy

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A giant wave along Chicago’s lakefront threatens to swallow a photographer.

Photo by Chicago Sun-Times

As clean-up from Hurricane Sandy continues, we’ll be updating anything and everything about the storm on this post. Bookmark the page and keep checking back. Latest entries will be at the top.

5:00 pm

Here’s video from the MTA showing damage to NYC transit stations.

The death toll for Sandy in the U.S. currently stands at 39 while there are now 8.2 million people without power.

Things in Staten Island are apparently very bad.

This photo from Gothamist shows the flooding at LaGuardia.

Iranian paper uses a photo from the film Day After Tomorrow with Sandy story.

4:35 pm

From a city press release:

4:25 pm

Here are Obama’s remarks from earlier today from the Red Cross.

3:40 pm

The below graphic shows the raising water levels at Calumet Harbor, IL as Sandy’s winds have pushed water into the Harbor over the past 24 hours by an additional 10″. [via the National Weather Service]

3:30 pm

We’ve updated our photo gallery of scenes from the Chicago lakefront.

NYC’s MTA Flickr page has some fascinating photos of Sandy damage.

NYC officials are improvising a plan to deal with that dangling crane at W. 57th St.

2:40 pm

Perhaps one of the most wrong-headed criticisms of Pres. Obama’s response – as well as one of the few criticisms – to Hurricane Sandy comes courtesy of Michael Brown, the former FEMA head who so badly botched the Hurricane Katrina response.

Meanwhile, Obama is heading to New Jersey tomorrow to view storm damage alongside Gov. Christie.

2:00 pm

Here is our photo gallery of Sandy’s winds slamming Chicago; we’ll be updating throughout the day. If you have photos to share, please tweet at us at @Suntimes or use the hashtag #cstsandy.

Thomas Conner has info on how Sandy has affected the tours of Chicago musicians (alert: Andrew Bird will be on Letterman tonight).

Pres. Obama has scratched a planned campaign stop in Ohio on Wednesday to remain in D.C. and monitor the Sandy recovery effort.

1:15 pm

As of noon, the National Weather Service reported wave heights on Lake Michigan of 21.7 ft, 1.2 ft shy of the record set last fall.

12:30 pm

Here are a pair of videos shot by our own Jon Sall.

12:15 pm

A Blue Island man was among those rescued from the sunk Bounty ship along the East Coast yesterday as Sandy came ashore.

12:00 pm

New Jersey governor Chris Christie has nothing but praise for President Obama’s response to the storm.

11:20 am

The death toll from Sandy now stands at 33.

11:10 am

First Lady Michelle Obama remains off the campaign trail, holding tight in Chicago, according to our own Lynn Sweet.

Donald Trump, a real humanitarian.

Below, more video of surfers on Lake Michigan, via Chicagoist.

10:50 am

The Com Ed outage alert map already shows several small outages scattered around the area though no word if these outages are officially related to winds from Sandy.

There have already been reports of outages along the lakefront up in Wisconsin.

10:45 am

Despite the impact of the storm’s wind on the city’s lake front, the CTA so far has no alerts or reroutes for any buses that use LSD.

It may take upwards of a week just to restore power to the nearly 700,000 residents without it in NYC.

10:25 am

According to the National Weather Service, the remnants of Sandy have already causes the second-highest recorded waves ever at the southern Lake Michigan mid-lake buoy. The highest winds recorded so far in the Lake Michigan region are 68 mph near Michigan City.

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A parking lot full of yellow cabs is flooded as a result of superstorm Sandy on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012 in Hoboken, NJ.

(AP Photo/Charles Sykes)

10:15 am

Here is video of the waves along Chicago’s lakefront this morning due to Sandy’s winds.

The morning after, Tuesday, October 30, 2012, 10:10 am

As residents along the East Coast wake up this morning, they find ruin in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. Latest estimates are 17 dead in the U.S. from the storm and over 7 million without power.

The NY Times has some solid graphics to show the extent of Sandy’s damage.

The flooding means very, very, very bad news for NYC mass transit as the city’s subway system was flooded. WNYC has a transit tracker but one word dominates it: Closed.

Today, Chicago will feel some of Sandy’s wrath with winds upwards of 60mph (tropical storm strength).

Here’s what President Obama had to say about the storm and here is Lynn Sweet’s list of five ways the storm will affect the election.

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Vehicles are submerged on 14th Street near the Consolidated Edison power plant, Monday, Oct. 29, 2012, in New York. Sandy continued on its path Monday, as the storm forced the shutdown of mass transit, schools and financial markets, sending coastal residents fleeing, and threatening a dangerous mix of high winds and soaking rain.

(AP Photo/ John Minchillo)

7:05 pm

Here’s why salt water flooding into NYC’s subway is a very bad thing.

7:00 pm

A photo of cars underwater at 14th Street and Ave C in NYC.

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A Rehoboth Beach resident watches waves crash down in Delaware, Monday, Oct. 29, 2012. Hurricane Sandy continued on its path Monday, forcing the shutdown of mass transit, schools and financial markets, sending coastal residents fleeing for higher ground, and threatening a dangerous mix of high winds and soaking rain.

(AP Photo/The Wilmington News-Journal, Suchat Pederson)

6:45 pm

Our Neil Steinberg takes a look at the surfers on Lake Michigan who are taking advantage of Sandy’s effect on our area.

While some locally-based businesses are prepped for the storm, traders at the CBOE are irked by the markets’ closure.

Economic projections are that damages from Sandy will exceed those of Irene.

6:25 pm

ComEd shut down the power in Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn could be up next.

5:45 pm

More on the evacuations taking place near the damaged crane near 57th Street.

4:30 pm

NJ Gov. Chris Christie is to be holding a press conference starting any moment.

4:00 pm

Here is the latest National Hurricane Center update.

As a match to their storm surge map (posted below), here is WNYC’s excellent live update map of water level reports.

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Rising water from the Hudson River overtakes a bank drive-through in Edgewater, N.J., Monday, Oct. 29, 2012 as Hurricane Sandy lashed the East Coast. The powerful storm made the westward lurch and took dead aim at New Jersey and Delaware on Monday, washing away part of the Atlantic City boardwalk, putting the presidential campaign on hold and threatening to cripple Wall Street and the New York subway system with an epic surge of seawater.

(AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)

3:50 pm

Latest totals have almost 800,000 residents without power due to Sandy.

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Sailboats rock in choppy water at a dock along the Hudson River Greenway during a storm, Monday, Oct. 29, 2012, in New York. Hurricane Sandy continued on its path Monday, forcing the shutdown of mass transit, schools and financial markets, sending coastal residents fleeing for higher ground, and threatening a dangerous mix of high winds and soaking rain.

(AP Photo/Jeffrey Furticella)

3:45 pm

From earlier today, here is President Obama’s brief statement

3:40 pm

2:55 pm

A stunning photo of the crane in NYC on the verge of falling.

2:45 pm

From Gothamist: even pets are prepped for Sandy’s landfall (which a meteorologist on CNN just said would occur by 6:30 pm NYC time or 5:30 Chicago time).

Meanwhile, in Chicago, the city is willing to close Lakeshore Drive if needed.

How late night TV is affected by the storm.

2:30 pm

From WNYC is this map of the storm surge.

2:15 pm

Amtrak has canceled services in the Northeast Corridor through at least tomorrow.

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Caleb Lavoie, 17, of Dayton, Maine, front, and Curtis Huard, 16, of Arundel, Maine, leap out of the way as a large wave crashes over a seawall on the Atlantic Ocean during the early stages of Hurricane Sandy, Monday, Oct. 29, 2012, in Kennebunk, Maine.

(AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

2:00 pm

As of 9 am this morning, almost 9,000 flights were reported canceled as a result of the storm.

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After checking to make sure his boat line is secure, Bob Casseday crosses the waist high flooded street just over the bridge along Savannah Road in Lewes, Del., to get back home as Hurricane Sandy hits Delaware, Monday, Oct. 29, 2012. Hurricane Sandy continued on its path Monday, as the storm forced the shutdown of mass transit, schools and financial markets, sending coastal residents fleeing, and threatening a dangerous mix of high winds and soaking rain.

(AP Photo/The Wilmington News-Journal, Suchat Pederson)

1:30 pm

Transcript of President Obama’s remarks earlier today.

Social media is making it easier than ever to share photos of the storm, particularly fake ones.

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This NOAA satellite image taken Monday, October 29, 2012 at 10:45 AM EDT shows Hurricane Sandy approaching the Mid Atlantic region with extensive cloud shied extending across much of the Northeast quarter of the U.S. with heavy rains from the Mid-Atlantic to the Ohio Valley and Great Lakes and snow falling in the southern portions of West Virginia. Cloudiness and rain showers can be found across the Upper and Mid Mississippi Valleys.

(AP Photo/Weather Underground)

1:20 pm

Here’s a nifty animated map of active winds from Sandy, showing exactly how far the storm’s effects are being felt.

Huffington Post is collecting power outages and other infrastructures issues here.

1:15 pm

From the D.C. area: mysterious horse-headed man goes jogging in storm, defies the gods.

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Ocean waves kick up near homes along Peggoty Beach in Scituate, Mass. Monday, Oct. 29, 2012. Hurricane Sandy continued on its path Monday, as the storm forced the shutdown of mass transit, schools and financial markets, sending coastal residents fleeing, and threatening a dangerous mix of high winds and soaking rain.

(AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

1:10 pm

The New York Times is posting a new photo from atop its office – overlooking NYC – every 60 seconds here.

1:00 pm

Our own Thomas Conner has put together a weather-related playlist as you follow the live updates.

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Two men wade in the rough Atlantic Ocean Monday Oct. 29, 2012, in Cape May, N.J., as Hurricane Sandy continues toward landfall. Hurricane Sandy continued on its path Monday, as the storm forced the shutdown of mass transit, schools and financial markets, sending coastal residents fleeing, and threatening a dangerous mix of high winds and soaking rain.

(AP Photo/Mel Evans)

12:55 pm

• From Gothamist:
• Mayor Bloomberg to NYC: “Remain in your homes … have a sandwich“
• Gov. Cuomo had a heck of time getting Twitter to verify him
• Photos of flooding from the Upper East Side in NYC

12:45 pm

It’s just been announced that U.S. stock markets will be closed tomorrow as Hurricane Sandy makes landfall. The New York Stock Exchange and CBOE were already closed today.

While both Romney and Obama have suspended campaigning while the storm hits, the Labor Dept has announced one major release – the last set of jobs numbers before Election Day – will be released on Friday as planned.

Meanwhile, cancelations at O’Hare and Midway continue to pile up as the megastorm makes its way ashore.