'Frankenstorm': A year after Irene, East Coast residents prepare for superstorm

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A year after being walloped by Hurricane Irene, residents rushed to put away boats, harvest crops and sandbag boardwalks yesterday as the Eastern Seaboard braced for a rare megastorm that experts said would cause much greater havoc.

Hurricane Sandy, moving north from the Caribbean, was expected to make landfall Monday night near the Delaware coast, then hit two winter weather systems as it moves inland, creating a hybrid monster storm that could bring nearly a foot of rain, high winds and up to 2 feet of snow. Experts said the storm would be wider and stronger than last year’s Irene, which caused more than $15 billion in damage, and could rival the worst East Coast storm on record.

Officials did not mince words, telling people to be prepared for several days without electricity. Jersey Shore beach towns began issuing voluntary evacuations and protecting boardwalks. Atlantic Beach casinos made contingency plans to close, and officials advised residents of flood-prone areas to stay with family or be ready to leave. Airlines said to expect cancellations and waived change fees for passengers who want to reschedule.

“Be forewarned,” said Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy. “Assume that you will be in the midst of flooding conditions, the likes of which you may not have seen at any of the major storms that have occurred over the last 30 years.”

In New Hampshire, Gov. John Lynch warned residents and visitors to be prepared, as utilities closely monitored the hurricane, and the University of New Hampshire announced it will close its Durham campus Monday and Tuesday in anticipation of widespread power outages. Unitil was talking to crews as far away as Tennessee and Michigan to make sure they will be available. Public Service of New Hampshire also was working to retain additional line workers and support staff. The storm was expected to hit the state late Monday with possible winds of up to 60 mph and rain totaling 2 to 4 inches during the initial period of the storm, according to the National Weather Service.

Farther south, many storm-seasoned residents had not begun to panic. Along North Carolina’s fragile Outer Banks, no evacuations had been ordered and ferries hadn’t yet been closed. Plenty of stores remained open and houses still featured Halloween decorations outside, as rain started to roll in.

“I’ll never evacuate again,” said Lori Hilby, manager of a natural foods market in Duck, N.C., who left her home before Hurricane Irene struck last August. “Whenever I evacuate, I always end up somewhere and they lose power and my house is fine. So I’m always wishing I was home.”

Farther north, residents were making more cautious preparations. Patrick and Heather Peters pulled into their driveway in Bloomsburg, Pa., with a kerosene heater, 12 gallons of water, paper plates, batteries, flashlights and the last lantern on Walmart’s shelf. They’ve also rented a U-Haul in case the forecast gets worse over the weekend.

“I’m not screwing around this time,” said Heather Peters, whose town was devastated last year by flooding after Hurricane Irene.

Across the street, Douglas Jumper, whose first floor took on nearly 5 feet of water during Irene, was tying down his patio furniture yesterday and moving items in his wood shop to higher ground.

“I’m tired. I am tired,” Jumper, who turns 58 today, said through tears. “We don’t need this again.”

At a Home Depot in Freeport, on Long Island in New York, Bob Notheis bought sawhorses to put his furniture on inside his home.

“I’m just worried about how bad it’s going to be with the tidal surge,” he said. “Irene was kind of rough on me, and I’m just trying to prepare.”

The storm threatened to hit two weeks before Election Day, while several states were heavily involved in campaigning, canvassing and get-out-the-vote efforts. Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney and Vice President Joe Biden both canceled weekend campaign events in coastal Virginia Beach, Va., though their events in other parts of the states were going on as planned. In Rhode Island, politicians asked supporters to take down yard signs for fear they might turn into projectiles in the storm.

After Irene left millions without power, utilities were taking no chances and were lining up extra crews and tree-trimmers. Wind threatened to topple power lines, and trees that still have leaves could be weighed down by snow and fall over if the weight becomes too much.