Atlantic City, New Jersey, resident Kim Johnson inspects the area around her apartment building, which flooded on Tuesday, October 30. Large sections of an old boardwalk also were destroyed by Superstorm Sandy. Nearly 11,000 people spent Monday night in 258 Red Cross-operated shelters across 16 states because of Sandy, the American Red Cross tells CNN. View photos of New York recovering from impact.
(CNN) -- Though no longer a hurricane, "post-tropical" superstorm Sandy packed a hurricane-sized punch as it slammed into the Jersey Shore on Monday, killing at least 11 people from West Virginia to North Carolina and Connecticut.
Sandy whipped torrents of water over the streets of Atlantic City, stretching for blocks inland and ripping up part of the vacation spot's fabled boardwalk. The storm surge set records in Lower Manhattan, where flooded substations caused a widespread power outage. It swamped beachfronts on both sides of Long Island Sound and delivered hurricane-force winds from Virginia to Cape Cod as it came ashore.
Sandy's wrath also prompted the evacuation of about 200 patients at NYU Langone Medical Center.
"We are having intermittent telephone access issues, and for this reason the receiving hospital will notify the families of their arrival," spokeswoman Lisa Greiner said.
In addition, the basement of New York's Bellevue Hospital Center flooded, and the hospital was running off of emergency backup power. Ian Michaels of the Office of Emergency Management said the main priority is to help secure additional power and obtain additional fuel and pumps for the hospital.
The storm hit near Atlantic City about 8 p.m. ET, the National Hurricane Center reported. It packed 80-mph winds at landfall, down from the 90 mph clocked earlier Monday.
"I've been down here for about 16 years, and it's shocking what I'm looking at now. It's unbelievable," said Montgomery Dahm, owner of the Tun Tavern in Atlantic City, which stayed open as Sandy neared the Jersey Shore. "I mean, there's cars that are just completely underwater in some of the places I would never believe that there would be water."
Dahm's family cleared out of Atlantic City before the storm hit, but he says he stayed put to serve emergency personnel. At nightfall Monday, he said the water was lapping at the steps of his restaurant, where a generator was keeping the lights on.
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The storm had already knocked down power lines and tree limbs while still 50 miles offshore and washed out a section of the boardwalk on the north end of town, Atlantic City Mayor Lorenzo Langford told CNN. He said there were still "too many people" who didn't heed instructions to evacuate, and he urged anyone still in town to "hunker down and try to wait this thing out."
"When Mother Nature sends her wrath your way, we're at her mercy, and so all we can do is stay prayerful and do the best that we can," Langford said.
And in Seaside Heights, about 30 miles north of Atlantic City, Police Chief Thomas Boyd told CNN, "The whole north side of my town is totally under water."
In New York, lower Manhattan's Battery Park recorded nearly 14-foot tide, smashing a record set by 1960's Hurricane Donna by more than 3 feet. The city had already halted service on its bus and train lines, closing schools and ordering about 400,000 people out of their homes in low-lying areas of Manhattan and elsewhere.
Flooding forced the closure of all three of the major airports in the area, LaGuardia, John F. Kennedy and Newark Liberty. Water seeped into subway stations in Lower Manhattan and into the tunnel connecting Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn, while high winds damaged a crane perched atop a Midtown skyscraper under construction, forcing authorities to evacuate the surrounding area.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg told reporters there was an "extraordinary" amount of water in Lower Manhattan, as well as downed trees throughout the city and widespread power outages.
"We knew that this was going to be a very dangerous storm, and the storm has met our expectations," he said. "The worst of the weather has come, and city certainly is feeling the impacts."
The storm was blamed for more than 2.8 million outages across the Northeast. About 350,000 of them were in the New York city area, where utility provider Con Edison reported it had also cut power to customers in parts of Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan to protect underground equipment as the storm waters rose.
But as water crept into its substations, Con Ed said it had lost service to about 250,000 customers in Manhattan -- including most of the island south of 39th Street.
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At least five people had been killed in storm-related incidents in New York state, including three killed by trees falling on homes in Queens and in the town of New Salem, near Albany, city and state officials said. Falling trees were also blamed for three deaths reported in New Jersey and one in Connecticut, authorities there told CNN.
In West Virginia, a woman was killed in a car accident after the storm dumped 5 inches of snow on the town of Davis, said Amy Shuler Goodwin, a spokeswoman for Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin's office.
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And before hitting land, it overwhelmed the sailing ship HMS Bounty, a replica of the historic British vessel, off North Carolina. Fourteen of the ship's crew of 16 were rescued, but the body of one deckhand was found Monday evening and the ship's captain was still missing Monday night, the Coast Guard said.
Sandy had already claimed at least 67 lives in the Caribbean, including 51 in Haiti.
Sandy's storm surges were boosted by a full moon, which already brings the highest tides of the month. And forecasters said the storm was likely to collide with a cold front and spawn a superstorm that could generate flash floods and snowstorms.
"It could be bad," said U.S. Coast Guard Rear Adm. Steven Rattior, "or it could be devastation."
Mass transit shut down across the densely populated Northeast, landmarks stood empty and schools and government offices were closed. The National Grid, which provides power to millions of customers, said 60 million people could be affected before it's over.
On Fire Island, off Long Island, the water rose above promenades and docks on Monday afternoon, homeowner Karen Boss said. Boss stayed on the island with her husband despite a mandatory evacuation order. She said they own several properties and a business there and had weathered previous storms.
"I'm concerned that it might come into the first floor," she said. "If that's the case, I'll just move into another house that's higher up."
Based on pressure readings, it's likely to be the strongest storm to make landfall north of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, CNN senior meteorologist Dave Hennen said. The benchmark storm, the 1938 "Long Island Express" Hurricane, contained a low pressure reading of 946 millibars; Sandy had a minimum pressure of 943 millibars. Generally speaking, the lower the pressure, the stronger the storm.
In Sea Bright, New Jersey, Yvette Cafaro scrawled a plea on the plywood that covered her burger restaurant: "Be kind to us Sandy." The seaside area largely dodged last year's Hurricane Irene, but Cafaro was not optimistic that Sea Bright would be spared Sandy.
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"Everything that we've been watching on the news looks like this one will really get us," she said. "We're definitely worried about it."
Its arrival, eight days before the U.S. presidential election, forced President Barack Obama and his Republican challenger, Mitt Romney, to alter or cancel several campaign stops. Obama flew back to Washington from Florida, telling reporters at the White House that assets were in place for an effective response to the storm.
"The most important message I have for the public right now is please listen to what your state and local officials are saying," Obama said. "When they tell you to evacuate, you need to evacuate."
And in Ohio, Romney asked supporters to drop off items and cash at his "victory centers" to be donated to victims of the storm.
"There are families in harm's way that will be hurt -- either in their possessions or perhaps in something more severe," Romney said.
By Monday afternoon, 23 states were under a warning or advisory for wind related to Sandy. Thousands of flights had been canceled, and hundreds of roads and highways were expected to flood. And according to a government model, Sandy's wind damage alone could cause more than $7 billion in economic loss.
Sandy was expected to weaken once it moves inland, but the center was expected to move slowly northward, meaning gusty winds and heavy rain would continue through Wednesday.
On the western side of the storm, the mountains of West Virginia expected up to 3 feet of snow and the mountains of southwestern Virginia to the Kentucky state line could see up to 2 feet. Twelve to 18 inches of snow were expected in the mountains near the North Carolina-Tennessee border.
"This is not a typical storm," said Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett. "Essentially, this is a hurricane wrapped in a 'nor'easter.'"
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CNN's Elizabeth Cohen, Dana Ford, Tom Watkins, Josh Levs, Chelsea J. Carter, Greg Botelho, Jason Kessler, Sarah Dillingham, Sean Morris, Ashley Corum, Eden Pontz and George Howell contributed to this report.
Cars float in a flooded parking area on Tuesday in the financial district of New York.
A power line knocked over by a falling tree blocks a street on Tuesday in Chevy Chase, Maryland.
Waves break next to an apartment building in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on Tuesday.
Workers shovel debris from the streets in Ocean City, Maryland, on Tuesday.
A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter flies over Central Park in New York City.
A man jogs near a darkened Manhattan skyline on Tuesday after much of New York City lost electricity.
Workers clear a tree blocking East 96th Street in Central Park in New York on Tuesday.
Rising water rushes into an underground parking garage in New York's financial district on Monday, October 29.
Taxis drive down a New York street where the power was out late Monday, October 29.
A firefighter speaks to a colleague while surveying damage caused by Sandy on Monday in New York.
Flooded cars line the streets of New York's financial district Monday night.
A truck drives by a flooded gas station in the Gowanus section of Brooklyn on Monday.
A flooded street is seen at nightfall during the storm on Monday in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Firefighters evaluate an apartment building in New York that had the front wall collapse during the storm on Monday.
Heavy rains fall in Manhattan on Monday.
People walk through water on the beach near high tide Monday as Sandy approaches Atlantic City.
Two men run down Foster Avenue while dodging high winds and waves from the storm on Monday in Marshfield, Massachusetts.
An emergency vehicle plows through floodwaters on Monday in Dewey Beach, Delaware.
A person tries to cross the street during the storm on Monday in Atlantic City.
A traffic sign warns motorists west of Philadelphia on Monday.
A wall of water makes its way to shore as residents brave the storm Monday in Ocean City, Maryland.
A downed tree and fallen power lines lie over homes Monday on Harvard Street in Garden City, New York.
Two people shoot video along Brooklyn Heights' Promenade on Monday as Sandy approaches landfall.
Work crews push sand from a roadway in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, due to storm surge related to flooding on Monday.
Two women battle wind and rain with umbrellas in hand in Philadelphia on Monday.
Kira Brizill leads family members as high tide and winds flood the street on Monday in Freeport, New York.
John Edgecombe II, who is homeless, takes refuge from the rain and wind at a bus stop in Ward Circle in Washington on Monday.
Superstorm Sandy dumped a lot of rain, flooding a part of Greenpoint, Brooklyn
A Pennsylvania Department of Transportation truck slowly drives on the Pennsylvania Turnpike as Sandy approaches Bensalem, Pennsylvania, on Monday.
Buses at Frankford terminal in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, sit idle after Mayor Michael Nutter ordered that all city offices be closed Monday and Tuesday due to potential damage from Sandy.
A woman walks down the promenade along the East River in New York City on Monday.
Jillian Webb, left, and Arianna Corso are pelted by wind and sand on Lighthouse Beach in Chatham, Massachusetts, on Monday.
Waves slam into the sea wall in Scituate, Massachusetts, on Monday.
Chris Losordo carries his father, Vin, across a flooded road in Falmouth, Massachusetts, on Monday.
A repair truck drives down a flooded street in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, on Monday.
Superstorm Sandy dumped a lot of rain on West Side Highway in Manhattan, NY.
Floodwaters cover the streets of Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, on Monday.
Multiple waves hit the Cooper's Beach in Southampton, N.Y.
Waves crash against a previously damaged pier in Atlantic City, New Jersey, as Hurricane Sandy approaches landfall on Monday.
High winds broke part of a crane boom on this building under construction in Manhattan, causing several nearby buildings to be evacuated.
An emergency vehicle drives down Cape May, New Jersey's flooded Ocean Avenue on Monday.
A young boy runs along Rockaway Beach in the Queens, New York, on Monday.
A woman examines her storm-damaged porch as heavy rain continues to pour in Winthrop, Massachusetts, on Monday.
A lone figure makes his way down Seventh Street in Lindenhurst, New York, on Monday.
People brave high winds and waves in Winthrop, Massachusetts, as Hurricane Sandy moves up the coast on Monday.
A tree felled by the storm blocks Kramer Drive in Lindenhurst, New York, on Monday.
Waves crash over a street in Winthrop, Massachusetts, as Hurricane Sandy comes up the coast on Monday.
A police vehicle drives through a flooded area in New York on Monday.
The New York skyline is seen from the bank of the East River on Monday.
People walk on the boardwalk in Ocean City, Maryland, on Monday.
A man stands on the beach as heavy waves pound the shoreline Monday in Cape May, New Jersey.
The dome of the U.S. Capitol building is seen through a window as heavy rain hits Washington on Monday.
A member of the press takes a photo of a flooded street on Monday in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
A man takes a picture of the storm with his phone from the boardwalk in Ocean City, Maryland, on Monday.
A man stands on the sidewalk Monday as a vehicle drives up a flooded street in Atlantic City.
The Hudson River comes over the sea wall along the West Side Promenade in the Battery Park area in New York on Monday.
The owner of the Wilton House locks up his bar on Monday in Hoboken, New Jersey, as Hurricane Sandy approaches the area.
Two people stand near the edge of the boardwalk on Monday in Ocean City, Maryland.
People fight against the wind along Brighton Beach in New York on Monday.
A jogger runs along the East River in New York on Monday as a police car secures the area.
A man watches as the tidal surge pounds a pier in Ocean City, Maryland, on Monday.
A street on the shoreline of Milford, Connecticut, floods at high tide as Hurricane Sandy approaches on Monday.
A sailboat smashes on the rocks after breaking free from its mooring on City Island, New York, on Monday.
A lone tourist stands in Times Square early Monday as New Yorkers brace against Hurricane Sandy.
A satellite image taken at 12:25 p.m. ET Monday shows Sandy moving over the Northeast.
A restaurant on the boardwalk in Atlantic City, New Jersey, is boarded up in preparation for the bad weather on Monday.
A man walks down a flooded street in Atlantic City on Monday before the hurricane makes landfall.
Tourists wear plastic ponchos in Times Square on Monday.
Air Force One arrives at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. President Barack Obama canceled his appearance at a campaign rally in Orlando, Florida, and returned to Washington to monitor the response to Hurricane Sandy.
A road leading to casinos in Atlantic City is empty before the hurricane makes landfall on Monday.
Obama steps off Air Force One on Monday after arriving at Andrews Air Force Base.
A truck moves north on South Long Beach Avenue as rising water and wind ahead of Hurricane Sandy flood the area on Monday in Freeport, New York. The storm, which threatens 50 million people in the eastern third of the United States, is expected to bring days of rain, high wind and, in places, heavy snow.
An overhead sign on the Southern Parkway alerts motorists to road closings in Wantagh, New York, on Monday.
A truck fights its way through water on a road in Southampton, New York, on Monday.
Andy Becica watches the heavy surf from Hurricane Sandy wash in Monday at Cape May, New Jersey. The full force of Hurricane Sandy is expected to hit the New Jersey coastline later Monday.
Water forced ashore ahead of the hurricane starts to flood Beach Avenue in Cape May on Monday morning.
A tattered piece of a billboard blows in the wind Monday in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Water floods a street in Atlantic City.
An ambulance maneuvers through water on Rockaway Beach Boulevard in Queens as the weather sours Monday in New York City.
People pose for pictures on the Brooklyn Bridge on Monday.
A wave crashes over the bow of a tugboat in New York Harbor on Monday.
Cape May Lighthouse shines over the heavy surf.
Dark clouds cover the skyline of Manhattan early Monday.
A satellite image shows Hurricane Sandy at 8:25 a.m. ET Monday. Forecasters warned that Sandy was likely to collide with a cold front and spawn a "superstorm" that could generate flash floods, snowstorms and massive power outages.
People stand on the beach watching the heavy surf caused by the approaching hurricane on Sunday in Cape May.
Sean Doyle of Levittown and Andrew Hodgson of Hicksville pull their boat from Long Island Sound on Sunday at Oyster Bay, New York.
With Hurricane Sandy approaching, the Long Island Railroad announced the suspension of service at 7 p.m. Sunday in Hicksville, New York.
Lisa Cellucci holds her umbrella as it is blown backward by Hurricane Sandy's winds as her friend Kim Vo watches on Sunday in Cape May.
People look at the surf as high winds and heavy rain from Hurricane Sandy arrive in Virginia Beach, Virginia, on Sunday.
A construction worker covers air vents Sunday to try to prevent the New York subway system from flooding by Hurricane Sandy. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced a shutdown and suspension of all subway, bus and commuter rail service in response to the storm.
Residents of Long Beach, New York, fill sandbags on Sunday in preparation for the storm.
A satellite image from 10:10 a.m. ET on Sunday shows Hurricane Sandy in the Atlantic Ocean grazing the East Coast.
A man surfs at Rockaway Beach in Queens as Hurricane Sandy approaches Sunday.
Scott Davenport brings plywood to cover the windows at the Trump Plaza casino on the boardwalk in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on Sunday.
Bob Kaege takes a measurement while boarding up a shop in Cold Spring, New Jersey, on Saturday as Marie Jadick speaks on the telephone getting an updated weather report in preparation for Hurricane Sandy.
Houses are flooded in the neighborhood of La Javilla in Santo Domingo, the capital of Dominican Republic, on Friday.
Residents watch firefighters battle a blaze in Kingston, Jamaica, on Friday. The fire, which destroyed the home, was started by a faulty generator that was triggered when Sandy caused a blackout, firefighters said.
A motorcyclist rides through a flooded street Friday in Petit-Goâve, Haiti, where three overflowing rivers put homes and farms under water.
Corey Hutterli works on securing his sailboat as the outer bands of Hurricane Sandy are felt in Miami Beach, Florida, on Thursday, October 25.
A woman stands at the entrance of her house surrounded by flood water after heavy rain in Santo Domingo on Thursday.
People walk on a flooded street after Hurricane Sandy hit Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Thursday.
Burt Myrich boards up a home in preparation for Hurricane Sandy on Saturday in Cape May, New Jersey.
A woman peers out the door of her house Thursday after it was damaged by Hurricane Sandy in Bayamo, Cuba.
A man clears debris from his house on Thursday. It was demolished by Hurricane Sandy in Santiago de Cuba.
Residents in Bayamo, Cuba, try to fix a house damaged by hurricane Sandy on Thursday.
A U.N. peacekeeper on Thursday stands at the edge of a bridge that was washed away by heavy rains from Hurricane Sandy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
A house ruined by heavy flooding from Hurricane Sandy sits abandoned in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Thursday.
Men deal with downed tree branches after heavy rain caused by Hurricane Sandy in Kingston, Jamaica, on Wednesday, October 24.
Students walk in floodwater from Hurricane Sandy's rain in Santo Domingo on Wednesday.
Citizens of Bayamo, Cuba, buy food on Wednesday, as they prepare for the arrival of Hurricane Sandy.
Waves hit the coast in Santo Domingo on Wednesday.
Citizens of Bayamo talk on the sidewalk on Wednesday.
People in Bayamo hold umbrellas as they purchase food Wednesday before the arrival of the hurricane.
Jamaicans shelter themselves from the rain of approaching Hurricane Sandy as they walk along the Hope River on Wednesday.
The Hope River begins to swell with rain from approaching Hurricane Sandy in Kingston on Wednesday.
Houses sit along the Hope River in Kingston on Wednesday.
A satellite view shows Hurricane Sandy's position on Wednesday.
