‘Frankenstorm’ May Cut Electricity, Ground Airlines for Days

[marmar]

(Bloomberg) The superstorm expected to develop from Hurricane Sandy probably will mean that millions of people lose power for a week as airplanes are grounded and coastal areas are flooded by tidal surge and rain.

The system, dubbed “Frankenstorm” by the National Weather Service, will grow out of Sandy and two other storms rushing eastward across the U.S., said Tom Kines, a senior meteorologist at AccuWeather Inc. in State College, Pennsylvania.

As many as 45,000 National Guard and Air Force personnel in seven states have been alerted that they may be called to duty, according to George Little, a spokesman for the Defense Department in Washington.

“Because of the large size of the system and the slow motion, it’s going to be a long-lasting event, two to three days of impacts for a lot of people,” said James Franklin, branch chief at the National Hurricane Center. “The kinds of things we are looking at ultimately would be wind damage, widespread power outages, heavy rainfall, inland flooding and again, somebody is going to get a significant surge event out of this.” ................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-26/widespread-power-outages-likely-as-sandy-slams-into-east.html