Americas

Home page

Americas

U.S. "Frankenstorm" could cause severe damage: forecasts

26 October 2012 20:36 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. An approaching hurricane targeting the U.S. East Coast could combine with a winter storm front from Canada to form a "Frankenstorm," wrecking havoc in the most heavily populated area of the United States and causing perhaps 1 billion dollars in damage, forecasts warned Friday, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

Hurricane Sandy, a category one hurricane, has slowed down as it rages through southern Bahamas early Friday. Its center was about 25 kilometers east of Great Abaco Island in the Bahamas and 770 kilometers south-southeast of Charleston, South Carolina Friday morning, moving northwest at a speed of 17 kilometers per hour (kph), with maximum sustained winds near 130 kph.

The system, however, remains huge and is predicted to join with a winter storm front out of Canada to form a "Frankenstorm" over the Northeastern U.S. around Halloween, according to the National Weather Service.

Predictions have shown the storm could strike areas between Washington D.C. to Boston in Massachusetts, putting the most densely populated areas of the country at risk of flash floods, downed trees, power failure and utility cuts. Meteorologists have already predicted that the storm could cause economic loss in excess of 1 billion dollars.

It is also expected to interrupt the intensive campaigning of both presidential candidates as their contests would enter the last week before the Nov. 6 election.