Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

President Advises People to Take Storm Seriously; Nine Days Away from Election Day; President Obama and Mitt Romney Crisscrossing the Country; Storm Will Impact Early Voting; Monster Storm to Hit Northeast; New York, New Jersey Brace for Sandy; Hurricane Impacting Race

Aired October 28, 2012 - 16:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: As a huge storm threatens to cause major destruction. This is what we know right now. The other bands of Hurricane Sandy are pounding the North Carolina and Maryland coasts right now. The storm is about 270 miles southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, carrying 75-mile-an-hour winds.

Sandy is moving north, of course, and is expected to turn toward the East Coast tomorrow and collide with a cold front, morphing into a dangerous megastorm.

Here's what's going on in all the affected states that we know of, thus far. New York, we know that subway and commuter train service is being suspended later on this evening at 7:00 Eastern Time. Mayor Bloomberg is expected to have a press conference any moment now. We'll take that live as it happens. And then of course the power company Con Edison is bringing in 700 contractors to help out with potential power outages.

And then we understand in other areas like New Jersey, which has already been declared a state of emergency, there are mandatory evacuations taking place in certain parts, from lower lying portions of the state. Tolls have been suspended on parts of the Garden State Parkway to help out evacuees.

And even buses have been sent in to Atlantic City to aid in the evacuation and then on to Maryland where it too has been declared a state of emergency. There are voluntary evacuations in the lower- lying areas. And then in downtown Ocean City, there are mandatory evacuations already under way and we understand that some of the other states are helping, including that of Louisiana, which are helping out the state of Maryland.

And then in D.C., public schools have been closed. Sandbags are being distributed. So an awful lot is taking place and as it pertains to the race to the White House, Governor Romney had some expected rallies that were planned for Virginia, that's been canceled. He's now moved on -- he and his running mate Paul Ryan -- to the state of Ohio but guess what, in Ohio, there may be a whole lot of snow in which to content with while folks on the East Coast are dealing with wind and rain.

So let's get a better view of this big storm now kind of threatening a good portion of the East Coast.

Our Chad Myers with me now.

So, Chad, we're talking about, you know, these pre-emptive declarations of states of emergency.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Sure.

WHITFIELD: And in large part, to really send a serious message to people that you don't need to be complacent, yes, it's a category 1, but really anything can happen with this storm.

MYERS: It also gives the authorities and the police and the fire some specific extra ability to move people if they need to. Like where our Sandra Endo is on Seaside Beach. She's not going to be there for the storm. And neither will anybody else, because that a mandatory evacuation.

All 38 island, all barrier islands, you've got to -- you have to off because the water is going to wash over to the island. It may wash under your home if it's on stilts, that's great. But you know we saw some of the our live shots, one from the Kill Devil Hills, the center of the storm is still 300 miles from Kill Devil Hills. It's still 500 miles from Ocean City. It's 500 miles from Annapolis.

WHITFIELD: Wow.

MYERS: And so the wind field is so enormous from about 250 miles from the center and out, you're going to have 50 to 60 mile-per-hour gusts. Both sides. North and South. As the storm drives itself either into Long Island, into New Jersey, or possibly down towards the Delmarva, it's still 36 hours out and there are models all the way from hitting Ocean City with the eye to all the way up into New York harbor with the eye. And so that's why this cone is a little bit left and right. At least a couple 300 hundred miles still wobble left and right. And that's what you get at 36 hours.

WHITFIELD: And because it's so slow moving, it too means that this storm is very ominous and threatening and that's why you're talking about this kind of water, whether it's the storm surge in collaboration of the rainfall could cause some real problems, some flooding.

MYERS: There's a tremendous low pressure that's 951 millibars. There's enough pressure, there's enough below pressure to cause a cat 2 or cat 3 hurricane. But there's no eye, there's not a big eye so we don't have those type of winds.

WHITFIELD: OK.

MYERS: I know we're waiting for Mayor Bloomberg.

WHITFIELD: In fact I understand he's just walked straight into the room right now.

MYERS: OK. Great. WHITFIELD: So let's go to -- straight to New York City and hear New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg as he assembles folks there. And getting in position to inform everybody of the kind of preparations to take place.

(BEGIN LIVE FEED)

MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, NEW YORK CITY: Thank you very much. We are here at the evacuation shelter at Seward Park High School, one of the 760 evacuation shelters located in public schools around the city. There are already more than 90 people here who have evacuated from homes in Zone A and there are hundreds more in shelters across the city. First I want to thank those who are taking quick action to ensure their own safety and to make it easier for the rest of us.

I want to thank all the people that are here working, they are volunteers and doing a phenomenal job, and I'd like to give everybody a little more of an update on the city's preparation for Hurricane Sandy right now.

The forecast for a large and dangerous storm surge is the same as it was this morning. Earlier today I signed an executive order for the mandatory evacuation of homes and businesses in Zone A, a low-flying coastal -- low-lying coastal areas of the city.

To reiterate what are the low-lying areas, Zone A includes Coney Island, Manhattan Beach and Red Hook and other areas along the east river in Brooklyn, all of the Rockaways and also Hamilton Beach and Broad Channel in Queens, almost all the coastline of Staten Island, City Island, a small patch of Throgs Neck, and another patch of the South Bronx, Battery Park City, and stretches of the west side water front and of the lower east side and east village in Manhattan.

There are two maps on display some place there, which we have or we're trying to get, which will show you the areas as Zone A, but the bottom line is the other map shows the 76 evacuation centers.

If you live in Zone A and have not yet evacuated to a safer location out of zone, it's crucial that you do so as soon as possible. Timing -- time is running out, if you're not sure if you live in Zone A find out by calling 311 or going to NYC.gov where you can find a map of the zones or type your address into the zone finder. The zone finder may be slow because we're just getting inundated with requests. But just have some patience and hang on. It does work and it will tell you where to go.

I can't stress enough that this is for your own safety. And that if you refuse to evacuate, you're not only putting yourself at risk, but also the first responders who will have to assist you in an emergency.

Everyone must keep in mind, especially those in Zone A who have not yet left, that mass transit service is going to be suspended. Tonight the last subway will run at 7:00 p.m., the last busses will run at 9:00 p.m. They will remain closed until further notice after the storm passes. If you have not yet left Zone A, please to get to -- get to public transportation as soon as possible. If you have friends or family you can stay with outside of Zone A, that's your best option. If you live in Zone A and don't have the option to stay with friends and family out of the zone, shelters like the one we're in right now are available for your use. There are 76 of them in public schools around the city, and they are opened, fully staffed and fully supplied.

They provide a safe place to sleep, meals and you can also bring your pets. You can find their locations by calling 311 or, as I said, the finder on NYC.gov. If you're going to use one of these shelters, we strongly urge you to get there via public transportation. And that has to be obviously as soon as possible. But there really aren't facilities to park cars.

All of these shelters have at least one entrance useable for wheelchairs. If you require further information, you can also visit the OEM Web site or the Web site of the mayor's office or people with disabilities which will provide information about accessible transportation.

If you cannot evacuate yourself and need assistance call 311 and if you go to a shelter and use regular medication or require medical equipment like oxygen tanks, be sure to bring them with you. Also bring the name and contact information for your doctor if you need medical care.

Buses provided by the Department of Education have be sent to all 26 public housing developments in Zone A. They are available to take the 45,000-plus residents in these developments to dedicated shelters. Flyers have been posted in every one of these developments, and NYCHA staff is knocking on doors to alert residents about the mandatory evacuation and to let them know the location of buses to shelters. NYCHA is also making calls to residences telling them to leave.

The NYPD is making announcements on those -- in those developments and throughout Zone A on loudspeakers in some of the squad cars. Residents can also call 311 to find out where to get those buses and to get help with evacuation.

As I said earlier today, let me remind you one more time. 7:00 p.m., subway stop, 9:00 p.m. buses. And in the NYCHA housing, 7:00 p.m., all elevators in those 26 developments will be shut off. Heat and hot water will also be shut off. So if you live in one of those developments, it's imperative that you get to a safe location out of Zone A before then.

As was announced earlier today, all public schools are closed tomorrow morning, Monday. All school-based afterschool programs are closed tomorrow as well, as are most other afterschool programs.

Let me give you some other updates on city operations. The Department of Homeless Services has enhanced street outreach to encourage people on the street to seek shelter. Street outreach will continue during the storm, safety permitting. Senior centers will be closed early on Monday and will remain closed on Tuesday. The Coast Guard has closed New York Harbor beginning tonight and all cruise ships originally scheduled for arrival Monday and Tuesday have been diverted.

The Staten Island Ferry will operate until 8:00 p.m. from St. George Terminal and 8:30 from Whitehall Terminal this evening. Afterward, service will be suspended until further notice. Let me also remind you that East River Ferry service has been suspended. All outdoor filming permits are being suspended for tomorrow. No city-authorized filming will take place.

The three public library systems that cover all five boroughs will be closed tomorrow. That's the New York, Queens, and Brooklyn public library systems.

We'll continue to give updates today and tomorrow. You can visit NYC.gov for updates or call 311. You can follow NYCMayorsOffice on Twitter. But the most important thing I can say right now is if you live in Zone A, you must evacuate. We have a plan to keep you and all New Yorkers safe. If you follow that plan, we'll get through this storm just fine. If you don't, people's lives are in danger. Not only yours, but the people who might be called to rescue you in an emergency.

Let me summarize in Spanish. (Speaking in foreign language).

(END LIVE FEED)

WHITFIELD: All right. You're listening to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg underscore that evacuation orders have been put into place into low-lying areas of Manhattan of the city of New York. He's talking about Coney Island, Manhattan Beach, all Rockaways, Staten Island.

He also reemphasized that 7:00 p.m. subways will be closed. 9:00 p.m. public transit in the form of buses will also end. He also said as an added deterrent heat and hot water will be shut off in those low-lying areas, also known as Zone A at that map that you saw a little bit earlier. And the Staten Island Ferry will stop at 8:00 p.m.

So the mayor underscoring he really wants people to take heed and evacuate if they are in that Zone A area and pets are permitted for residents who go to these evacuation centers so there is a lot of incentive in which to meet the needs of the city, all those being underscored by the New York mayor.

We're going to check in with our Chad Myers momentarily, too. You were listening to that press conference. And we both were like aghast.

MYERS: My jaw --

WHITFIELD: You know, when we heard that hot water and heat shut off. So they don't want people to stick around in those Zone A's.

MYERS: Right.

WHITFIELD: Meantime, let's look at this piece from Mary Snow because she kind of spells out the worst-case scenario if Hurricane Sandy does indeed hit and kind of devastate the New York City area. Let's listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If anyone is worried about a hurricane hitting New York, it's coastal geology professor Nicholas Coch and to understand why, he took us to Southampton, New York.

NICHOLAS K. COCH, QUEENS COLLEGE/CUNY: And this is actually where the 1938 hurricane broke through and made Shinnecock Bay a branch of the ocean.

SNOW: Coch says most New Yorkers forget that it was here that a powerful category 3 hurricane made landfall in 1938. It was called the Long Island Express and it caused widespread damage even in New York City some 75 miles away.

(On camera): Even if New York City is spared a direct hit.

COCH: That's right. It's going to have massive flooding, yes.

SNOW (voice-over): For years, Coch has been sounding the alarm about how vulnerable New York City is because of its topography. He says storm surges could trigger massive flooding in low-lying areas, particularly lower Manhattan.

Consider the simulation done by NOAA, showing what a category 2 hurricane could do to a tunnel linking Brooklyn and Manhattan.

Donald Cresitello with the Army Corps of Engineers mapped out some worst-case scenarios. A category 1 hurricane, for example, could flood the subway station at the southern tip of Manhattan with 3 and 1/2 feet of water. A category 2 storm, he says, could put JFK airport under 5 and 1/2 feet of water.

DONALD E. CRESITELLO, U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS: If the storm were to occur, it could be catastrophic given the population density in the northeast.

SNOW: High winds are also a big concern. And city officials have evacuation plans at the ready. Despite all the preparations, Coch says it's not the hurricane he's most worried about.

(On camera): What's your biggest person?

COCH: The New Yorker.

SNOW: Why?

COCH: Because they don't listen. You can always tell a New Yorker, but you can't tell them very much.

SNOW (voice-over): Mary Snow, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. New jersey, of course, bracing for this storm. We're going to check in with our Alison Kosik who is in Sea Bright, New Jersey, already there are, in some places, long lines for gas, long lines to get out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Evacuations have been put in place in low-lying areas in New York including Coney Island and even Staten Island. And then on to New Jersey there evacuations taking place in Atlantic City and in many of the other low-lying beach areas as they prepare for the worst.

Alison Kosik is in Sea Bright, New Jersey.

So, Alison, evacuations, have people been heeding the warnings? Have they been, you know, lining to get away from the coast?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, I've seen a few people come this way, here's one guy taking pictures. He's finally leaving. There's a police officer here on the parking lot close by, telling everybody to evacuate because as you said there is a mandatory evacuation here in Sea Bright.

You know, as I'm standing here, I'm feeling the spray off the ocean. Look at these waves, they're certainly coming closer and closer, a good portion of the beach at this point is getting covered by water. And it's not even high tide yet. High tide isn't about five hours. But the folks that live here in Sea Bright, they got a taste of what it's going to be, even at high tide. There's a high tide earlier this morning. So just beyond those buildings that you see there is a river that crested a bit, or this morning and started flooding, flooding the main area there.

So those who live there, those who work there have got a good taste of what's to come. I did speak with one woman who owns a hamburger shop there. She's been in business about two months. She boarded up here place, put some sandbags and is hoping for the best.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're actually more worried about the river than the ocean because we know it's high tide, we have the full moon. It's already up to the top out there. You know, we just went and looked at it. So we know, you know, it's coming at us from both sides. So we're not in the best place to be right now. But you know, we're praying and we're hoping that she spares us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: And when she says both sides, she literally means it because the river is over here, the the ocean is over here, and then of course, as a second worry, the storm surge on Monday when a wall of water anywhere from four to eight feet is expected to fall over right where I'm standing -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Everyone has to brace. Thanks so much, Alison Kosik there in Sea Bright, New Jersey.

We're going to continue our coverage of Hurricane Sandy when we come right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Hurricane Sandy has not only impacted people all along the East Coast, it's affecting both presidential campaigns. This is a time when every moment counts for both tickets.

Now cancelled President Obama's campaigning in Virginia and Colorado early this week. The president, instead, monitoring the storm from the White House. Romney, well, he's cancelled his events in Virginia today and instead is joining his running mate on a bus tour of Ohio.

So Mitt Romney has now an important endorsement out of Iowa. The "Des Moines Register" has chosen Romney because they say it's all about the economy. It marks the first time in 40 years that the newspaper has backed a Republican in the presidential general election.

Meanwhile, President Obama has added the "New York Times" to his endorsement column. The editorial page listed Obama's achievement like saving the auto industry and health care reform as reasons for the endorsement. The "Times" also endorsed Obama back in 2008 and has not backed a Republican since Dwight Eisenhower.

All right. Ohio considered quite the price that could win either candidate the house. Barack Obama will be making more stops there as election day nears. All pending the storm. His running mate, Vice President Joe Biden is also planning more events some where within the next nine days.

Obama is scheduled to leave Washington. Well, he's not scheduled to leave Washington today. In fact he's staying close to the White House because of this storm.

All right. The newest poll in the state of Ohio shows Mitt Romney may have reason to be concerned. As we've said, it's a close race there. We've asked likely voters who their choice is for president.

Barack Obama has a 50 percent to 46 percent margin over Mitt Romney, which is why Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan are stomping in Ohio. As you can see here, the two rallied supporters earlier today in the town of Selena. They both have spent several days in the Buckeye State and have more on the calendar.

All right. Critical information for millions of people to know, as Hurricane Sandy approaches the northeast now, our Josh Levs at the CNN hurricane desk with the latest details as they come in -- Josh.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fred. New information coming in by the minute. And since we're going to be hearing from Massachusetts in just a matter of minutes, let me tell you a little bit of what we're getting from there right now.

First of all, where I am right now, is the CNN hurricane desk. For as long as that's what it needs to be and what you're seeing here as just part of our team of people throughout the country and including right here who were gathering new information, letting us know when things get announced like that including changes at the New York Stock Exchange.

Let me also tell you a little bit about the new information we're getting from other states throughout the region, including -- wow. Great information. So I -- new information on Massachusetts, let me tell you a little bit about that. One of the many places that's had to close schools is Boston. And we've now crunched the number. We're looking at more than two million young people that will not have school in the coming days.

Also another thing to know going into Deval Patrick, Massachusetts is one of many places that did face some criticism in the wake of a previous storm. And right now you're going to find that throughout the entire eastern seaboard, states are trying to do absolutely everything they can in advance to make sure that people are not left without power for days on end or even for weeks on end.

A lot of people in Massachusetts have been listening closely to Governor Patrick there to see what he has to say about what will be done differently this time.

Let's go into my screen here. I want to show you all a couple of things that are coming in from our coverage of the storm. First of all I've been wanting to start with this because while we are focusing on preparations right now in the northeastern United States, we have also already seen a deadly storm.

Keep in mind, folks, Hurricane Sandy was deadly when it passed through Santo Domingo, which is the picture we're seeing right here. We've also got a picture here for you out of Kingston in Jamaica. What you're seeing there is a fire that was sparked when a generator apparently was faulty in the midst of the storm. So obviously we want to keep in mind what a lot of people all over the country have faced. And what I'm showing you here now is a spread of photos that have come into us here, all of this is up at CNN.com.

No matter where you are, we encourage you to go to CNN.com. Absolute latest details, we've got a blog for you called CNN Just In, showing all the numbers. We've also got for you photo spreads and if you are . And if you are in a position to take photos or videos safely, go ahead and send them to us at iReport. It will help us tell the story. We will not be showing any from people who violated evacuation orders. So obviously do everything local officials tell you to do. But you will find that even though we're in a lot of places, we can't be everywhere.

And our iReporters do a great job, Fred, of bringing us into the scene during these preparations and ultimately during whatever it is to come. So keep it here on CNN.com.

And, Fred, I'll be back, I guess, a little bit later this hour with us and what is elsewhere.

WHITFIELD: OK. We'll look forward to that. Thanks so much, Josh Levs. Appreciate that.

LEVS: Sure. You got it. WHITFIELD: We'll continue our coverage of Hurricane Sandy after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Welcome back to our continuing coverage of Hurricane Sandy. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Take cover and take this storm seriously. The words from President Barack Obama just a short time ago as we all watched this supercharged storm make a closer encroachment of the east coast. The president earlier speaking at FEMA Headquarters and warning this is a slow moving storm. Let's right now check in with our meteorologist Chad Myers and because it's a slow moving storm, that's why we're talking about potential danger of accumulation of a whole lot of water.

MYERS: The snow and rain and also the bubbling of the water under the storm, the bubbling up of the water called storm surge. So when this storm does roll on shore this little bubble of water will come up on to land. So one wave after another, it takes an hour or two to maybe go up a foot, we are talking 11 feet possibly up into New York Harbor for the Hudson River all the way over even towards the East River and I'm even thinking over towards the Emblems, so you try to solve all that water into one little spot that gets smaller and smaller up that little river, the water will rise.

WHITFIELD: And that is why you are seeing these mandatory evacuations for those low lying areas in New York City and parts of Jersey and Maryland.

MYERS: And even though wind is not going to be a major part of this, we'll still get winds to 75, maybe 80. That's not a category anything except one, so people are taking it lightly. The reason why the trains are going to stop tonight at 7:00 is because they're afraid power lines, power poles or trees may fall on the tracks. You don't want to have a train running into a tree that's already on the track. I listened to Governor Comover (ph) earlier and he goes, "Trains are made to run on tracks, they are not made to be submerged."

And so they don't want this in case water does get in the subway system and it is a lot more likely this time than it was with Irene. We were concerned with Irene because it was a mixed flow but didn't and still would haven't the storm surge that this lumbering storm that's been in the ocean for a long time could push water on to the shore and keep pushing it until it moves on land and then it interacts with the low pressure system that is forming there. And then it gets big, one plus one equals three when it gets there. That's why they're snow in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia and maybe even flooding in all the other states. Think about even this, even though the winds are only going to be maybe 55 or 60 where you are Pennsylvania and New York, Vermont, you get 20 inches of rainfall, 15 inches of rainfall all those trees are going to be saturated, all those roots are going to be soft. And those trees are going to be falling and millions will be without power.

WHITFIELD: And you mentioned Irene, and while that was a year ago, New York City did not get pummeled by Irene. Even though people had preparations under way in Connecticut and it did get hit hard. They were out of power for more than a week. And you heard the mayor of New York City; he is urging very seriously to take this warning of this storm. That is why there is going to be no hot water, there's going to be no heat in those low-lying areas, he seriously is encouraging people to go to those evacuation locations or seek higher ground, or find a friend who is in a higher level place.

MYER: I felt for the mayor, I felt for the mayor like when I was working in Lincoln, Nebraska doing my first weather show. Call for the radar, OK here is the radar. Can we see the radar? Is the radar there? And it never showed up. The mayor talked about zone A the entire time and it never showed up, his graphic never came. But we made one here for you to see what zone A really looks like, we are talking about the beaches and all of the low areas that would be flooded if we do get this eight to ten foot surge and if we get to zone B and I sure hope that we don't.

Then all of a sudden we have a whole other list of things to do. In all of those projects, all those housing and public places, they are going to turn off the heat and the water and ac. They won't need ac, this is going to be a cold storm, they want people out of there, and they truly do.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much Chad appreciate that. Just as we were talking, we have some new information that came in involving the New York Stock Exchange. Suspending physical trading and cooperation's on Monday and of course that's lower Manhattan due to Hurricane Sandy.

And then while we are talking about this storm and how it's impacting individuals all long the east coast, it's also impacting the candidates, those who are racing for the White House, just nine days away, actually less than. Until Election Day, they have their work cut out for them, they had to change their strategy on their stumping plans, and we'll get an update right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, we are just nine days away from Election Day and what President Obama and Mitt Romney are leaving nothing to chance, they and their vice presidential running mates have been crisscrossing the country but all that is changing now with Hurricane Sandy now pending. A.B. Stoddard is with us now, editor of the "Hill Newspaper," joining us from Washington. So A.B. even the president returning to his job as the country's leader, trying to address with all that may come with Hurricane Sandy, Mitt Romney, he's changing his campaigning plans from Virginia and New Hampshire to now focusing on Ohio. So give me an idea, you think this is kind of become the October surprise, this weather system is just changing the course of direction for both candidates?

A.B. STODDARD, ASSOCIATE EDITOR, "THE HILL:" This is definitely the October surprise and it comes at a time when there's still no clear front-runner in the race. As you can see a lot of polls that show that Mitt Romney is closing on the right states to win. A lot of polls that show that President Obama has the structural advantage in the swing states, they need to be in Virginia, they need to be in Ohio, the storm will affect certain states where they really need to be there in person and there's no more critical time to campaign and hold rallies and be there in person then the week before the elections.

WHITFIELD: If they wanted to have an advantage however, wouldn't it be the president because he is still front and center and the country is able to se him essentially do his job in a moment of crisis, whereas Mitt Romney who's campaigning in Ohio, and has the attention of Ohioans, not necessarily the rest of the nation

STODDARD: Well they are both worried. Both candidates are worried that the people are just most interested in watching TV and findings out when the power company is going to turn the lights back on and really focus on the storm and it's aftermath, the Romney people are hoping that everybody will be so grumpy after having no power for days that they'll be in the mood for change if they get in the car on Election Day.

But I think the president; he can be monitoring the storm and making pronouncements about emergency declarations and resources that the federal government would share with the states that are affected. I still think that Mitt Romney is going to find the time to make sure he's getting his voters out and that is what matters, Obama will be doing the same. I think that generally people in a storm, I don't really care how presidential someone's acting, they're just thinking about themselves and how they're going to get to work and how they're going to get their clothes clean and keep their frozen chicken from going rotten.

WHITFIELD: Yes, this storm already is going to have an impact on the early voting. It is doing that right now. Maryland, Virginia, both are enjoying early voting on Saturday, yesterday, but now it's being suspended. So how do you see this kind of changing the pace or the potential impact of early voting in some of the states that were residents that wanted to take advantage of that this week?

STODDARD: It definitely affects it. It will depress the numbers of people who file early. That's really a problem. President Obama has really been intent on banking all this early vote. Because he and his supporters are soft supporters, they can be disappointed one day with the new jobs report or a GDP estimate or something.

And they wanted to rack up those numbers early, they made a huge effort to do that, they say that's put them in the right place, but this last week as you said is the critical time for people who are going to get those last-minute votes in to do so. And as we said, any time after a storm that you could plan to do anything that's going to inconvenience you is just not a good time. So November 6, Tuesday, he's got to go get those people who couldn't get out this week.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Lots at stake A.B. not only that contingency plan especially for electronic balloting if power's still out in some of these important eastern states, come November 6, at the same time you've got that big jobs report that is coming out this week Friday just four weeks before Election Day all of those things could impact this election year.

All right. Thanks so much. A. B. Stoddard appreciate that.

STODDARD: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Mean time as it pertains to this Hurricane Sandy. The Red Cross, the American Red Cross has hundreds of volunteers in position as this storm gets closer to landfall. I'm joined right now by Trevor Riggen, he's the vice president of disaster operations for the American Red Cross, he's now n the phone from Washington. So what is the plan that you have in place, where do you have the majority of your volunteers spread out?

TREVOR RIGGEN, RED CROSS (via telephone): Good evening, and as you know, this storm Sandy is a rather large storm and the impacts are going to be felt hundreds of miles away from the center of the storm, as it is being projected. And to mobilize we have launched a multi state response that comes in this full area. Red Cross chapters, there's hundreds of workers, we're running shelters, we're coordinating response efforts with our community partners and local governments specifically in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Delaware, Connecticut and Virginia.

Right now we have folks finalizing preparations, we're opening shelters starting this evening. And shelf meals and snacks are in place for when the storm comes. And then in West Virginia, we're also taking a look at potential snow fall that can come on the back end of the storm. We are doing our coordination's with state and local officials to make sure they are ready and our unites are in place.

WHITFIELD: And so Trevor is that one of the big obstacles how you coordinate with some of these cities and metropolitan areas as it pertains to shelters and needs? Because just last hour, top of the hour, we heard from New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, he talked about the evacuation centers and the shelters that have opened at the same time, the American Red Cross has its plans in place for people. How do you coordinate with these cities so that you're not kind of stepping on each other's toes at the same time conveying the message to people so that they know what their options are.

RIGGEN: You are actually right. The coordination with our government partners is absolutely critical. We placed Red Cross volunteers and staff in each of the state emergency operations centers and in the county emergency operation centers alongside our government partners so we're sharing information back and forth in real-time and coordinating our efforts to make sure the public knows exactly where they can go to go to get help. We are not stepping on each others toes. The information is clear and available to those in need.

WHITFIELD: Is there anything the public can do, those that were not in kind of the bull's-eye areas, the potential bull's eye areas there in the east coast, how can they help you out?

RIGGEN: Absolutely. There's a couple of ways, one is to go on to the apple app store and google place store and download Red Cross hurricane app and there is lots of tools on there. Getting prepared and telling your family your safe and finally this will be a large and costly relief operation, we have multiple states, hundreds of volunteers out and we need your support. To donate you can visit Redcross.org, or you can call 1-800-red cross or just simply text the words red cross to 90999 and make a $10 donation. We appreciate all your support.

WHITFIELD: Excellent. Trevor Riggen thanks so much, vice president of disaster operations for the American Red Cross. Appreciate your time.

All right. As we mentioned. Hurricane Sandy could be making an impact all the way from North Carolina all the way up to Maine and let's check in with what's taking place, what kind of precautions are being conveyed there in Massachusetts right now, Governor Deval Patrick momentarily will be taking to the microphone. Let's listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. DEVAL PATRICK, (D) MASSACHAUSETTS: We will be prepared to support requests for evacuation assistance and search and rescue assistance should the need arise. But again, we are urging communities to consider evacuations of people that are at risk so that we do not have to mount large scale search and rescue operations.

And the final note, we are working closely with the Red Cross tonight at 8:00 p.m. shelters, regional shelters will open, both on the south and in the east to support people that need to move out of their homes and into shelters. People who are looking for shelters can call 211; mass 211 to find the location for shelters and all of the coastal communities are also tied into that shelter plan.

Thank you. To help keep the roads clear for energy personnel and to keep people safe from flying limbs and debris from downed power lines, I'm first of all requesting all schools including colleges and early education programs to close tomorrow Monday for the safety of students and employees alike. I'm directing all non emergency state workers to stay home tomorrow and to work from there, to the extend you can. State office buildings will be closed tomorrow throughout the commonwealth and I am encouraging private employers to follow our lead and have their workers stay home as well.

Beginning tonight and throughout the day tomorrow, we're asking everyone who can to stay off of the roads, those drivers who must travel tomorrow on the southeast expressway to take the high occupancy veichle lanes will not be open. The vast majority of overnight maintenance and construction work will be suspended on public roads and sites and secured tonight because of the high wind associated with this storm. There's a high likelihood of power outages, although the NBTA will operate normal subway and trolley service for as long as it is safe to do so, customers should expect service disruptions, ferry service will not operate through tomorrow.

I ask people to check NBTA.com or to call 617-222-3200 before going out. Better still if you can, stay home. Check with your airlines if you have a flight schedule. Many of the airlines are waving fees for making flight changes. Amtrak has cancelled all northeast service during its 7 p.m. tonight and through tomorrow.

As I mentioned, the high winds make power outages very, very lightly tomorrow. The National Weather Service expects that we may have an even larger impact on service then during Hurricane Irene. We continue to be in close communication to the utility companies on their preparations, Sec. Sullivan received his latest briefing just a few hours ago. And I am going to ask him now to relay what he has learned. Secretary.

SEC. SULLIVAN: Thank you Governor. As we have said --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick there. That Amtrak stops its northeast service beginning at 7 p.m. this evening. Of course he's urging all non emergency state workers to simply stay home given this storm is just hours away.

All right. The Washington, D.C. area is right in the path of Hurricane Sandy. We will tell you what officials there and president are doing to get ready for this storm.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Welcome back to our continuing coverage of Hurricane Sandy. Already that storm is beginning to hug the Maryland coast. We have seen that it's whipping up wind and rain in Ocean City, Maryland. Not far from there, in Indianapolis, Maryland, it seems a little calmer. Athena Jones is there. Athena it's not going to be long though before you feel what our Sandra Endo has been feeling in Ocean City, Maryland. What is happening right now?

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi Fred. Well I can tell you it did start raining a few hours ago, but it hasn't really picked up, it's still more or less drizzle, but that does not mean we're not beginning to see a rising tide. That water has risen a little bit already in the last couple of hours and it is beginning to splash over. That's the big issue here, as we're being in a flood prone zone, but I should mention that the president, President Obama just a few hours ago visited FEMA in Washington to get a briefing there and he also made some comments. Let's listen to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: At this stage, everybody is confident that the staging processes, the repositioning of resources, commodities, equipment that are going to be needed to respond to the storm are in place. But as Craig has emphasized, this hasn't hit landfall yet. So we don't yet know where it's going to hit, where we're going do see the biggest impacts and that's exactly why it's so important for us to respond big and respond fast as local information starts coming in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: So there you are, the president says they have to respond big and they have to respond fast. And that is what people are doing all up and down this coast getting ready. The president also made a phone call to governors and mayors from states and cities around the region that are in the path of this storm, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Athena Jones thanks so much for Annapolis, Maryland.

All right. Precautions are being taken all along from North Carolina all the way up to Maine. We'll bring you the latest right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)