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Tracking Hurricane Sandy; NYC Shuts Down For Sandy; Sandy Lashes Maryland Coast; Connecticut Prepares for Sandy; Flooding Hits Long Island; Storm Interrupts Presidential Campaign; ; Virginia, D.C., Brace for Hurricane Sandy; Pennsylvania Hunkers Down against Hurricane Sandy as Red Cross Opens Shelters; "HMS Bounty" Sinks off North Carolina Coast

Aired October 29, 2012 - 13:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I want to welcome our international viewers from around the world.

We are feeling the impact of this potentially historic super storm here in the United States right now. The same storm that has already hit Cuba, Haiti, on its way to Canada.

I'm Suzanne Malveaux. Let's get right to it.

Hurricane Sandy is a massive storm. It is taking aim at the Northeast. As many as 60 million people are now in its path. It is expected to make landfall this evening. At last check, Sandy was churning along the coast about 205 miles southeast of Atlantic City, New Jersey. It is already causing flooding in some areas of New York's Long Island. Today, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg urged people to evacuate areas, to leave quickly while they still can.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, NEW YORK: So let me reiterate what I said yesterday, just for everybody's safety. And it's also for the safety of the first responders who might have to rescue people who remain in Zone A and whose own lives could be put at risk because of that.

If you are still in Zone A and can find a way to leave, leave immediately. Conditions are deteriorating very rapidly and the window for you getting out safely is closing. As the winds start building this afternoon, it gets more and more dangerous to go outside. And so you're sort of caught between a rock and a hard place. You should have left, but it's also getting to be too late to leave.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Of course we've got reporters deployed throughout the Northeast, all along the Mid-Atlantic Coast to bring you the very latest on Hurricane Sandy. There's our group there. Forecasters expecting Sandy to make landfall possibly along the Jersey shore or the Delmarva peninsula. It's an area that includes Delaware, parts of Maryland, and Virginia.

Coastal Maryland already getting pounded by strong waves and high surf. Let's take a look at those pictures. Want to get an update from our meteorologist Chad Myers in the hurricane center.

Chad, you've been warning us. You told us this was going to be big. You told us it was going to be historic. Where is it now and when are we looking at?

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You know, I don't even want to look at the center. I need to look at the wind field. It's so big with this. And maybe, yes, maybe the center of circulation comes on shore, Cape May (ph), Atlantic City, maybe Wilmington, up the coast, you know, up into the bay there.

But that's not the story. The story is that this wind field and this storm surges is all the way to Long Island. It's all the way to Connecticut and Rhode Island. It's going to make wind and waves as far south as North Carolina, and it already has, pushing water up the Chesapeake, making a snowstorm in West Virginia.

There are so many arms to this storm. So many different things to so many different people. Waves will crash on shore in Maine of 24 feet. There will be waves on top of a 20 foot storm surge on Long Island. I just -- this -- you can't put your hand -- and you can't put your head around how many people are actually in the way of this.

MALVEAUX: Chad, where is it now? Can you tell us where it is now and the path that it will take?

MYERS: Yes, let me show you. Finally, finally we can see it on the radar. For most of its life, it's been far off shore. We couldn't show you the radar. We had to show you the satellite. Well, we can now show you the center of circulation is right there. And if I draw a line, just a vertical line right across here, that would be, right, the border between Delaware and Maryland. It still has a slight northward movement to it. I don't know how long that northward movement will --

MALVEAUX: Lost our feed.

All right. Chad, we lost your mike there. So we're going to bring you back just to talk a little bit more of the details as soon as we get you miked there.

Want to talk about lower Manhattan. That is where waves started pushing into Battery Park. That happened around 9:00 this morning. But New York, of course, not taking any chances. Officials, they have shut down the subway. Broadway shows canceled. United Nations offices as well closed. New York Stock Exchange, that is closed as well. There's a mandatory evacuation order for 375,000 people across the five bureaus.

I want to bring in Deborah Feyerick, who is in the village there.

Deb, we saw the mayor and he told New Yorkers that if you live along the waterfront, you got to head to higher ground. And he also (ph) the evacuation zones. Tell us about the success. Are people actually leaving or are they trying to wait this thing out?

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There -- I don't know if you just -- yes, you know, I don't know if you just saw the crowd of people who passed behind me. You know, the thing about New York City is, it still has a pulse. Even in the worst kind of weather, people are still out, people are still about. And I asked one woman, you know, what is the zero sort of sum game here in terms of like when do you get inside. And she said, you know what, she just didn't feel like she had reached that point yet.

MALVEAUX: I do know, yes.

FEYERICK: But when you think of Manhattan, Manhattan is sort of a long oval. And around it you've got highways. Now, the highways are, in fact, beginning to flood. The water just happens --

MALVEAUX: I -- we just lost Deb. We're going to try to get back to her as soon as possible, giving us the very latest there.

I want to head to Atlantic City. The casinos are closed there as of noon by the order of the governor, Chris Christie. The city's convention center is now a shelter to storm refugees. A lot of folks who are taking shelter there.

I want to bring our Chad Myers back because I understand we've got a microphone that is working and you've got a lot of really important details.

Chad.

MYERS: Yes, when I put a brand new battery in it, I expect them to last. And I don't know what happened to that one, but that's OK.

Here's the center of circulation. We have it right there. And all this wind is moving on shore and it's piling water into Long Island Sound and it's going to pile water into New York Harbor. And we are going to get a significant storm surge there.

We're going to get breaching of the barrier islands from about Seaside down to Sea Bright. This is going to be a big deal as the water over washes those barrier islands back into like Toms River as the water surges up into New Jersey.

We're going to get wind and waves and even some of the waves here along the Potomac may be splashing high enough and pushed up the Potomac high enough to cause some coastal or river flooding there. This is such a widespread storm with waves and winds into Boston, into Rhode Island and even into Maine, and as far south here where most of the heavy rainfall will be into Virginia.

I'm worried a lot about five inches of rainfall and winds even at 50 miles per hour. So many trees are going to come tumbling down in Maryland and Virginia. And that's not even the center of this storm. The center is going to move into New Jersey, into southern Pennsylvania, and that's where those 60 to 80-mile-per-hour winds are. This is a 90-mile-per-hour storm right now. When it comes on, 90-mile- per-hour winds sustained, gusts over that, will knock down literally almost every tree in its path.

MALVEAUX: All right, thank you, Chad. Appreciate it.

I want to go back to New York. I believe we have Deborah Feyerick, who's back up.

Deb, what can you give us, the latest?

FEYERICK: You know what we were going to tell you, as a matter of fact, Suzanne, is, you know, when you think of Manhattan, Manhattan is like a long, thin oval. And around the edges you've got these highways. That's sort of the most threatened area at this point. Inside, sort of the -- in -- right in the interior by Central Park, you know, that's pretty much insulated, and so the wind is less strong. The rain feels less strong. Here we're getting a really full dose of it.

But you can see -- look, I turn around, there's a whole crowd of people behind me because right now people are just sort of trying to check it out. It's the very thing that officials are saying don't do. They're saying go inside. The majority of people, there are clearly inside. But there are some who just sort of want to see it while they still have the chance. Just to kind of check it out for themselves.

As I mentioned, this highway, parts of it are beginning to flood. Just towards that bridge there you can see the Holland Tunnel. The Holland Tunnel is going to be close to 2:00. That tunnel goes into New Jersey. But, you know, as I was driving down 9th Avenue to get here, a lot of the restaurants were closed. The majority of restaurants. And Manhattan, a very restaurant sort of oriented culture. The majority of those are closed. You have a couple of corner stores that are open. Nothing like yesterday when it looked like a run on the Bailey's Savings and Loan with all the people trying to get flashlights and lanterns and food.

That has really passed. But people have kind of taken the day -- it's a day off. It's sort of almost like a snow day. Here's what some people had to say, Suzanne.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And we didn't do anything last year for Irene and it wasn't so bad. So we figured we'd brave it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was here last year for this. It wasn't this bad this early. Right now it's -- it's, you know, over the bank already. So it could be -- this is going to be a pretty bad storm. My (INAUDIBLE) my staff are all ready and I have all my extra guys in and we're hoping that -- we're going to, you know, brave it out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: And, Suzanne, you can see over here, this is one of the buildings that's just kind of past the highway. They've put a couple of sandbags up. Some of the windows have, in fact, been boarded up. They're waiting for the surge. This area does tend to get a lot of rain. And even a couple of inches here, cars can float away. So people protecting against that. But the sense we feel down here in this particular A Zone, some people have gone to visit friends. Others, they're -- they are riding it out. That's kind of what New Yorkers do, Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: So we don't suspect a lot of people are going to these evacuation -- these shelters that they've set up? Essentially they're not -- they're going to try to do it on their own?

FEYERICK: We've checked in to some of the evacuation centers. There are some people there. But what we're hearing from the folks here is that mostly they're going to go to friends. They're going to friends that are less in the A Zone. They may be uptown. They may be closer to Central Park. The parts of this city that are really insulated and protected.

But again, you know, we've seen a number of lights on in the building. Folks, they're -- who knows what the numbers are, but people have enough food to certainly last the next 24-48 hours, Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: All right. We wish them well. Deb, thank you.

Sandra Endo, she is live in Ocean City, Maryland. Really extraordinary pictures where she is.

And I understand that there is sheet metal that is now flying off the roofs. Sandra, what do you know?

SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Suzanne, we're already seeing the effects of Hurricane Sandy. And Hurricane Sandy has not even approached the land yet. Again, as you mentioned, sheet metal separating from the hotel here we're standing in front of. And we're taking advantage of the low tide right now just to show you the effects already, the damage caused by the efforts of Hurricane Sandy.

You can see those enormous waves. Again, this is low tide. But take a look at the erosion on the beach here. See this fencing? It has all been swept away by the water. The rough sea. And these posts are what's left behind.

Take a look all along the beach here. All you see left are the posts. And there used to be fencing to really have this sand dune here to protect this area because this is what the area wants to protect. Those waterfront residents right there.

So these sand dunes were protective. But all morning long, during high tide, we saw these waves go over these sand dunes and really flood the area, bringing this dirt and sand back into the water, and that is why we're seeing this massive beach erosion here.

The force of the water was so strong, that is why this fencing has completely been destroyed. And they're going to have to re-fence this area. Obviously bring in more sand and dirt to create these barriers, these sand dunes, after this is all said and done. But, again, Suzanne, we haven't really felt the brunt of Hurricane Sandy yet and already you can see the devastation here behind in Ocean City. MALVEAUX: And, Sandra, you were talking about the sheet metal that was literally flying off of the building. Was this something that was like really attached to the building? Was this a part of the roof, the structure of the building itself? I mean that suggests some pretty powerful winds.

ENDO: Yes, absolutely. And we've been feeling those wind gusts all morning long.

But take a look at the balcony area of the hotel. You can see that taupe colored sheet metal that's kind of the roofing of this property. And that is what's celebrating from the foundation of the building. And it's clearly a dangerous situation. If you pan over here, Eddie (ph), you can also see, Suzanne, where that light bulb burst yesterday, last night, because of the dangerous winds. So we saw that glass shatter and fall on the pool deck as well.

So we're clearly bracing for more wind gusts. And we've been feeling the effects all morning long. Steady rain. A lot of wind here. And it's only intensifying.

MALVEAUX: And it is just the beginning. Eddie and Sandra, thank you so much.

And we have just learned that President Obama declaring a state of emergency for the state of Delaware. That in addition to the other states that are obviously going to be impacted. The president reaching out to the governor's of those states, saying that they are prepared and coordinated with FEMA and that people should listen to their state and local officials. But again, another one put on the list here. State of emergency now in Delaware.

Here's what we are working on for this hour. The president's also talking about the seriousness of Hurricane Sandy. Meanwhile, the president and Mitt Romney cancelling campaign events because of this storm. We are live from many other cities in the storm's path, from Alexandria, Virginia, to a flooded neighborhood on Long Island. Stay with us. Our reporters hard at work.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Questions now whether or not the jobs numbers -- the October numbers are going to come out and -- for unemployment figures. And we are now learning from administration official here -- just going to read this -- that the employees at the Bureau of Labor Statistics are working hard to insure the timely release of employment data on Friday, November 2nd. It is the Labor Department's intention that Friday will be business as usual regarding the October employment situation report. A lot of people will be looking for those numbers and, in some way, perhaps a small indication in terms of the health of the economy and how that impacts how people determine whether or not the president has done a good job in trying to turn this economy around. There were questions before about the Labor Department being closed for a couple of days, whether or not we were going to get those jobs numbers. Well, now the administration official trying to reassure folks that those numbers will come out on Friday as usual. We also are looking at Connecticut here. Connecticut Governor Dan Malloy. He is on the line right now from Hartford.

And, Governor, thank you for joining us. You are in the path of the storm as well. A couple of things I just want our viewers to note here that you said earlier. You said, this is the most catastrophic event that we have faced and been able to plan for in any of our lifetimes. We continue to do anything in our power to be ready. That sounds very, very serious. What did you mean by that?

GOV. DAN MALLOY, D-CONNECTICUT (via telephone): Well, the potential surge in Long Island Sound, because of the presence of Long Island and the direction that the water is flowing and will be pushed by wind, is that we will probably set a record for volume of water in Long Island Sound and that we anticipate, if the current pricks hold, that this will be the largest and perhaps most serious event that we face.

MALVEAUX: What do you recommend for people right now? Because I understand that because of dangerous driving conditions, all state highways are closed now to non-emergency vehicles starting at 1:00 this afternoon. If you've got to get out of your house, well, what are the alternatives?

MALLOY: Well, we're not writing tickets for cars. And that's -- what we're trying to do is get trucks off right now. And that's our focus. And also encourage people to stay home. But if your home is in a place that we've already asked you to leave, then any time you can leave is a good time, unless you're surrounded by water. And tonight is our most critical time. Depending on the wind at high tide -- and high tide begins in Connecticut, in New London, at 10:00 p.m. and then plays itself down the coast until about midnight, when people will have the highest volume in the western portion of the sound -- you know, leave. You know, we've told about 362,000 people that they should vacate where their residents are. And a good number of people are listening.

MALVEAUX: Is this a mandatory evacuation in your state?

MALLOY: Evacuations are handled on a local basis. We have told everyone to use category four maps for tonight's occurrence. And I think the communities are doing a combination of mandatory and suggested depending on the local typography.

MALVEAUX: So what does that mean exactly? I mean if you're not someone who knows what category it is and you're -- how do you know whether or not you're supposed to get out, you have to get out or you should get out?

MALLOY: Our fire departments, police departments have gone door to door. Our mayors and first selectmen (ph) are well aware of this. They are the people who are responsible for carrying out the removal of folks on a local level. There's about 30 towns and cities, including three of our largest cities that are on Long Island Sound, specifically Stanford, Bridgeport, and New Haven. And then a lot of small towns as well. And this work is underway and has been underway since yesterday morning. MALVEAUX: All right. Governor Malloy, thank you so much, out of Connecticut.

We're going to go back to New York, head to New York's Long Island. Hurricane's wind and rain slamming the city of Lindenhurst. That is right now. It's an inland community and so some neighborhoods are already flooding. And Jason Carroll, he's in one of them.

Jason, we saw earlier when we saw you that people have boats out there. That's not uncommon for people to get in their boats and start heading out into the waters. Is that a good idea?

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I have to tell you, Suzanne, it depends upon who you ask, you know, in terms of whether they should stay, whether they should go. I spoke to some people earlier today in this neighborhood of Lindenhurst, Long Island, who decided it was time to get out and leave. I think you saw that in the last hour. Some are deciding they want to stay and do what they can to try to help their home.

I want you to take a look at this -- this street here. I know it looks more like a canal, because canals crisscross this area. But the tide has been rising throughout this area here. The water has been coming up throughout the day. Right now I've got some guys here. They've got a rubber boat here. This is what you've been using, correct?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, that's correct. We've been use this to transport our generators and to get out of the house and back (ph) to the house. And right now this is the only rescue on the block.

CARROLL: Now you've decided to stay. Your -- Lindenhurst is under a mandatory evacuation. What is it going to take guys like you to, you know, take boats like this, put them in a safe spot and get out?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think just my family is leaving. The wife and kids are leaving. I've got a couple of my friends going to stay with me tonight. And we're going to stick it out just to keep an eye on the house, make sure no houses burn down.

CARROLL: Now, I know Paul back there -- Paul, why don't you come around this side for us. I know you guys that lost power at one point. Power is now back on. You've also been keeping track in terms (INAUDIBLE) of how the water's been rising and receding. What have you learned so far?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So I've been keeping track of the high tides. So last night was the first high tide where we really saw it get bad. We had seven inches in front of my house. This morning, high tide was -- high tide was one --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hold on, everybody. (INAUDIBLE), hold on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This morning, high tide was one foot nine inches in front of my house.

CARROLL: Right. Right. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have another high tide coming at 11:00 tonight.

CARROLL: Right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So that's the question. How much of the water gets out and then how much more on top of that? That will be the one to watch. And I plan on measuring it. I'm going to be here.

CARROLL: And, Paul, as people look at what we're doing right here, when you look down the street, the water does get deeper, of course. We're standing it an area where at least it's manageable to stand and we're keeping everyone as safe as possible. I think emergency officials who are watching this are going to be saying they would encourage you, gentlemen like yourselves, to pack up and to get out, but --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, that --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's what they live inland.

CARROLL: That's why they live inland. Well, at least you still have a sense of humor. That's greatly appreciated.

I'm going to let you guys --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).

CARROLL: I'm going to let you go about doing your thing. You said you're going to be moving your furniture upstairs to try to keep it out of harm's way, but your family, most of your family, has headed out?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will be leaving. My kids will be leaving in a little while, but we're going to move as much furniture as we can upstairs to reduce the losses.

CARROLL: And very quickly, Suzanne, I also want to point out that the residents here tell me that as -- if terms of the way things look now, this is already far worse than Irene got at its worst, and we haven't even seen the worst of Sandy yet. Correct?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely. Absolutely.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Irene, this was as high as Irene got, and I think we're going to get another couple of feet on top of this, easy.

CARROLL: So another couple of feet on top of what we're experiencing now. Again, water -- when you go down the street here, Suzanne, it's about thigh high here in Lindenhurst already.

MALVEAUX: All right, Jason, I'm curious how he's going to get those kids out, but we've run out of time, so maybe we'll get back to you and maybe he can help us understand how he's moving the family out in that water, in that little boat there. If are you actually trying to fly out of the northeast, you're probably out of luck. Thousands of flights now have been canceled because of the storm. We're going to show you where.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Hurricane Sandy having a major impact on the presidential campaign as well. The storm has caused both the president and Mitt Romney to cancel their campaign stops. The president spoke just molts ago from the White House on hurricane preps.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We anticipate that the center of the storm is going to hit landfall sometime this evening. But because of the nature of this storm, we are certain that this is going to be a slow moving process through a wide swath of the country and millions of people are going to be affected.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Jim Acosta, he is in Cleveland, Ohio, with the Romney campaign.

So, Jim, we know that both of these men have canceled their events. And from the Romney folks' perspective, from their campaign, what was the thinking behind it?

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Suzanne, I think when the president started canceling his events, it probably started to dawn on the Romney campaign that it would be difficult to get out there and do a whole lot of campaigning in a time of national crisis. And so as you mentioned just a few moments ago, Suzanne, the Romney campaign did announce earlier today that it is cancelling events for this evening and tomorrow. It is going to go ahead and carry through with an event set for Davenport, Iowa, later on this afternoon. And then that's it, Suzanne. Basically this campaign is in a holding pattern. It is in limbo until all of this passes.

And the Romney campaign says now, just so everybody knows, the governor is not going to be down for the next day and a half. They say don't describe it like that. He's going to be doing something. We just don't know at this point.

The other thing we don't know is where he will physically be over the next 24 to 36 hours. So we assume at that -- at this point, Suzanne, that they are working out those logistics. But earlier today, at an event just outside of Cleveland, Mitt Romney did talk about the storm and what he would like to see Americans do during this time of crisis. Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And on the eastern coast of our nation, a lot of people are enduring some very difficult times. And our hearts and our prayers go to them as we think about how tough it's going to be there. I don't think there's been a hurricane in Ohio in a long time, but there's been some hurricane that have caused a lot of damage across this country and hurt a lot of families. And there are families in harm's way that will be hurt either in their possessions or perhaps in something more severe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: So now the other thing that's going on at the same time, Suzanne, Paul Ryan's events this evening and tomorrow have also been scrapped for the time being. And we're basically awaiting guidance at this point as to where the candidates head next. Sort we're sort of in unchartered water, Suzanne. You know, this is not something that happens right before an election. It's sort of the mother of all October surprises, Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: All right, Jim, thank you. Appreciate it. Give us details when you know a little bit more about his schedule.

School is out for hundreds of thousands of college students in the storm's path. Going to take a look at where.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Massive storm of the deadly history is churning along the mid-Atlantic coastline with top wind feeds now 90 miles per hour. Hurricane Sandy is blamed now for 67 deaths in the Caribbean. Now forecasters say it's on a collision course with the northeast. At last check, it was about 205 miles southeast of Atlantic City, New Jersey. The massive storm could affect 60 million people from Virginia to Massachusetts. Forecasters expect Sandy to combine with a cold front and form a super storm that is likely to cause flash flooding, massive power outages, and snowstorms. FEMA, Federal Emergency Management Agency, says storm damage from wind alone could reach $3 billion.

From Virginia to Boston, classes now canceled today at major colleges and universities. The list including Harvard, MIT, American University, and Virginia Tech. Here we've got some of the schools with the largest student populations. The City University of New York is the biggest. Hundreds of thousands of students are now told to stay home today.

People living along the Atlantic coast preparing now for Hurricane Sandy to make landfall. We're going to see a repeat -- are we going to see a repeat of last year when Hurricane Irene slammed into the northeast?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDREW CUOMO, GOVERNOR OF NEW YORK: Do not underestimate this storm. These forecasts for the surge are really extraordinary.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) MALVEAUX: Northeast is bracing for massive storm. Hurricane Sandy is on a collision course with the region, expected to make landfall tonight. We are already seeing strong waves and rain along the mid- Atlantic coast. The eye of the storm is taking aim at southern New Jersey's shore as well as parts of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia.

Carol Costello is in Alexandria, Virginia, across the Potomac River.

Carol, what's the biggest concern for folks right there where you are watching?

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There are so many concerns, Suzanne. I can't possibly enumerate them all, but I'm going to give it a shot.

The rain is starting to come down harder. Earlier it had felt like a weird early fall storm, the kind that made you really uncomfortable. Certainly not like a hurricane because it's cold outside.

I am in old town, Alexandria, which is on the bank of the Potomac River. It's right beside me. This is in the tide rises in the ocean, it puts the water of the Potomac River up and maybe over its banks. It happens a lot here. High tide is expected at 9:00 tonight. There's also going to be a full moon, so that makes the tide even higher.

And it makes the business owners here even more worried. You can see how close the businesses are to the Potomac River. They're literally like, what, a couple of feet. Business owners have been preparing for the last several days.

Oddly enough, though, I talk to the mayor of Alexandria just about an hour ago, and he said flooding really isn't the major concern. Power outages are. People get very impatient, he says, when the power goes out in these parts, and sometimes they do not so smart things. But he has met with the utility companies over the past several days. He says everything is ready to go.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM EUILLE, MAYOR OF ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA: The most significant part of the storm damage is going to not be the rain and flooding. It's going to be power outages for long durations. The power company is "Johnny on the Spot." They're ready to be responsive as soon as they -- the winds die down so they can get out there and get people's powers back up and running.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: It's another meeting with the utility (AUDIO PROBLEM.) I will say, Suzanne, the mayor has another meeting with the utility companies at 2:00 eastern this afternoon. Over the weekend, mayors all across the country were on a conference call with the Department of Homeland Security and also FEMA. Those folks telling him that the federal government is standing by with whatever the city of Alexandria needs, the mayor says we're ready, come on, Sandy, we're ready. But he also cautions citizens here to take precautions and to be smart about what they do.

MALVEAUX: Yes. Carol, you and I and local news have covered many flooding down in that very area. People there are really used to seeing the water rise. I'm assuming, like you say, it really is the power that's going to be the big problem there. What have you seen in the D.C. area? I know that the metro is now down. Federal buildings are closed, and D.C. pretty much at a standstill.

COSTELLO: Oh, yes, the city of Washington, D.C., it's like a ghost town because, you're right, all federal offices are closed. And non- essential federal employees were told to stay home. Metro services shut down. We saw a few cabs, but not many. If are you outside and you want to catch a cab in D.C., you're not likely to catch one. People are really staying home.

But like I said, the rain is now starting to come down. Every so often we'll feel a gust of wind, Suzanne, so it hasn't really hit at its hardest yet. That probably will happen in the next few hours.

By 9:00 tonight at high tide, though, that will be the most dangerous time for not only Alexandria, but also Washington, D.C. But you're right, D.C. is a ghost town, and, frankly, that's a good thing.

MALVEAUX: All right. Good to see you. Thank you.

Hurricane Sandy heading towards the coast. The New York Stock Exchange is closed today, and we are learning that it's also going to be closed tomorrow. The hope is that it's going to resume trading on Wednesday if all goes well.

Want to turn to today's "Smart is the New Rich." Almost 60 percent of jobs gained in the recovery have been low-wage jobs. We've only seen strong employment growth in just a few sectors, one of them being health care.

Christine Romans, she takes a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHARMAINE DAVIS: How are you? Good to see you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Charmaine Davis loves her job --

DAVIS: Lots of people love dental hygienists. I love hygienists. This is my passion. This is my career.

ROMANS: Flexibility, high pay and growing demand put dental hygienists at the top of this list of best health care jobs, ahead of audiologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists and optometrists.

DAVIS: We'll get started and then we'll do the oral exam.

Can you just sit back?

ROMANS: The median income for dental hygienists is about $68,000 a year, according to government stats. Hiring is projected to rise 38 percent by the year 2/20, above average for an industry already on a hiring tear.

More than three million health care jobs have been added over the last decade, and the industry is projected to grow 30 percent by the year 2020.

PAUL KECKLEY, DIRECTOR, DELOITTE CENTER FOR HEALTH SOLUTIONS: The data clearly says that virtually every occupation in health care will see job growth, ranging from primary care and general surgery, dentistry, even psychologists. But the largest number of new jobs will be mid-level jobs. These will be jobs as technicians, of allied health professionals, of home health aides, even health coaches.

ROMANS: Here's the pay for those top jobs in health care. But not all health care jobs are created equal. There is huge demand for home health and personal care aides, but they take home about $20,000 a year.

Good-paying jobs, like Charmaine's, take investment and more school.

DAVIS: I took the opportunity of doing it in the evenings. It was four days a week. And I worked full-time during the day and on the weekend.

ROMANS (on camera): Wow. So you were working full time?

DAVIS: I was working really hard but it was worth it.

ROMANS: But these are investments you have to make in a career, right? A decision to not have a job but to have a career.

DAVIS: That was my goal.

ROMANS (voice-over): She needed an associate's degree. The typical program costs 30 grand. Charmaine made the investment, and is collecting the dividends. And we're not just talking about money.

ROMANS (on camera): And when they open that mouth? Ew.

DAVIS: When they open their mouth, nothing surprises me after 24 years.

ROMANS: Really?

DAVIS: Nothing.

ROMANS: And it feels good to get that plaque out?

DAVIS: It does, and do that polishing.

(LAUGHER)

And walk out and get that beautiful smile. Knowing that they're going to continue with their home care.

(LAUGHTER)

ROMANS: She's the real deal.

(LAUGHTER)

DAVIS: Open as wide as you can for me.

ROMANS (voice-over): Christine Romans, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: In Pennsylvania, the governor is warning that Sandy is no ordinary storm.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM CORBETT, GOVERNOR OF PENNSYLVANIA: This storm is moving slowly and bringing high volumes of rain. Essentially, this is a hurricane wrapped in a nor'easter.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: People of Philadelphia are making last-minute preparations. The city shelters are now filling up. We're going to tell you what the Red Cross is doing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Getting us news just in now. Amtrak announcing it has canceled all travel through the northeast corridor through Tuesday. Amtrak cancelling transportation along the northeast coast.

In Pennsylvania, Governor Tom Corbin is now calling Sandy, quote, "a hurricane wrapped in a nor'easter." In Philadelphia, the American Red Cross has shelters open for residents who don't want to ride it out at home.

And joining us is Dave Schrader with the Red Cross. He joins us by phone.

Dave, first of all, how many people have been seen today, and what kind of situation are they dealing with?

DAVE SCHRADER, RED CROSS (voice-over): Right now, we have 15 shelters open. We're approaching 300 people in those shelters throughout the greater southeastern Pennsylvania territory. Basically, we are getting food, clothing, cots, blankets, pillows, comfort items, and most of the shelters are pet-friendly, so people are -- people can be reassured they can bring their pets.

MALVEAUX: Pet friendly, that's a good thing. Who is actually showing up in shelters? Are these mostly families, are the elderly people? What do we know? SCHRADER: It's a pretty broad mix. It's elderly. There are lots of families with young children. I would say about a quarter of the people. Theirs shelters in the city with children. That's who has been coming in. It's basically people who either decided they couldn't wait it out, they didn't want to (INAUDIBLE) and decided, I'm going to go to a shelter.

MALVEAUX: Dave, if you need to go to a shelter, if you're thinking of going to a shelter, what should you bring or not bring? How should you prepare?

SCHRADER: Basically, you can bring whatever you feel comfortable with. There's really no restrictions on the kind of things that make you feel comfortable. You will -- you get a blanket and pillow but you can still bring your own. Bring your --

(AUDIO PROBLEM)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Two crew members are still missing after the "HMS Bounty" sank today off the coast of North Carolina. This video was shot this morning as the Coast Guard plucked 14 other crew members from the icy Atlantic waters. Check it out. The "Bounty," a replica of the ship involved in the infamous 1789 mutiny, went down after fighting 18-foot waves and 40-mile-an-hour winds in Hurricane Sandy. The rescued crew members were airlifted to Elizabeth City, North Carolina.

That is where George Howell reporting. He's joining us by phone.

George, you've got the latest, the search and rescue here, for these two missing crew members. What do we know? Two are still missing out there in the water?

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Suzanne, yes. You have two crew members still missing in the water and we know the Coast Guard is still actively searching for them. We know helicopters are out there as they continue the search effort. But we're talking about -- the video we just got from the Coast Guard, and quite frankly, Suzanne, given what we've seen on the Atlantic, this is an amazing rescue. They were able to go out and practically find a needle in a haystack, finding 14 of these crew members.

A couple of things we learned from the people we spoke with, people who were on that mission, first of all, people on the "bounty," contacted the Coast Guard around 6:30 yesterday. So they've been out there for some time, giving that distress signal that their ship was going down, taking on water faster than the pumps could get the water out. The crew had pledged to abandon ship at 8:00 a.m. the next day, today, but they had to abandon ship much earlier, 4:00 a.m. So they were out in that water for some time. They sent out the distress signals that they sent out. The Coast Guard came out with helicopters and they were able to find 14 people and bring them up.

I spoke with the rescue swimmer, Randy Hava (ph), and he told me what it was like to go down that hoist, to swim and find these people and bring them up. That's an interview that I just did and we'll turn that around for you as quickly as we can. But, Suzanne, an amazing rescue situation here when you consider what this crew went through, these two crews went through, to find these people. Still looking for a few others.

MALVEAUX: Unbelievable, really, the efforts they have made. Really quickly, George, do we know why they were out in there in the water like that when you had this hurricane coming?

HOWELL: I asked the crew about that, and that's a question they're still trying to look into. We wanted to speak with some of the survivors, and one reason that we can't is because the Coast Guard wants to do their own investigation. They want to talk to those crew members to understand exactly what was happening.

But I do know one thing about this, and whether this was the case or not, we know the bounty typically goes from port to port, offering tours. And it's also possible that it went out to sea to ride out the storm. These are possibilities. Nothing confirmed yet. But we're trying to look into it to determine why they were out there.

MALVEAUX: George Howell, thank you so much. We certainly hope those two will be found and rescued safely.

If you're trying to fly out of the northeast, probably out of luck at this point. Thousands of flights have now been canceled because of the storm. We're going to show you exactly where.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Getting around in the super storm is going to be pretty difficult, especially if you're trying to fly. Hurricane Sandy is at least 350 miles wide and that has caused thousands of flight cancellations. You can see them there at some airports across the northeast have closed all together. United Airlines alone has grounded 3,700 flights through Wednesday. Airlines are expected to lose millions of dollars for every day that the flights are grounded. Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Boston, and New York are among those cities affected.

We've got a lot more on this. CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Brooke Baldwin.

Hey, Brooke.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Suzanne. Thank you so much.