Gov. Andrew Cuomo has declared a state of emergency throughout New York."We want to make sure we take every precaution possible," he said.
Sandy, which weakened to a Category 1 hurricane Thursday night, has left more than 30 people dead in its path across the Caribbean and continues to threaten life and property as it powers its way toward the New York City area, forecasters say.
Officials are warning residents to begin planning for the worst by stocking up on supplies, studying evacuation routes and monitoring forecasts. Transit agencies and utilities began to implement their emergency preparations, including calling in extra contractors, clearing train tracks of debris and canceling planned construction projects.
Mayor Bloomberg noted there was still uncertainty about the timing and track of the storm, and said officials were not yet ordering evacuations because it was too early to make those calls. But still, he said, "common sense says you should start taking precautions."
"This is a potentially dangerous storm," he said.
The rain bands of Sandy will first show in the region Sunday, with the heaviest rain developing Sunday evening and lasting through Tuesday, meteorologists say. The worst of the system is expected to hit Monday into Tuesday morning and computer models now agree Sandy will make landfall at some point anywhere from southern Virginia to eastern Long Island.
