"Hurricane Sandy, the monster storm bearing down on the East Coast, strengthened on Monday after hundreds of thousands moved to higher ground, public transport shut down and the stock market suffered its first weather-related closure in 27 years.
About 50 million people from the Mid-Atlantic to Canada were in the path of the nearly 1,000-mile-wide (1,600-km-wide) storm, which forecasters said could be the largest to hit the mainland in U.S. history. It was expected to topple trees, damage buildings, cause power outages and trigger heavy flooding.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said on Monday the Category 1 storm had strengthened as it turned toward the coast and was moving at 15 mph. It was expected to bring a 'life-threatening storm surge', coastal hurricane winds and heavy snow in the Appalachian Mountains, the NHC said."
Daniel Trotta and John McCrank reports for Reuters October 29, 2012.
SEE ALSO:
"A State-By-State Look at the East Coast Superstorm" (AP)
"Storm Gains Strength as It Churns North" (New York Times)
"Hurricane Sandy Closes Broadway Shows" (BBC News)
"Delaware Roads Closed To Public After 5:00 a.m." (ABC/WPVI-TV Philadelphia)
"Hurricane Sandy Grounds Thousands of Flights Worldwide" (CNN)
"Evacuations, Shutdowns on East Coast Before Storm" (Reuters)
"New York City Subways to Shut Down as Sandy Nears" (Wall St. Journal)
"NYC Braces for Wall of Water From Superstorm" (AP)
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