ACCU-WEATHER SAYS WE COULD STILL SEE WIND GUSTS OF 30-TO-50 MILES PER HOUR INTO THE AFTERNOON WITH ANOTHER HALF-INCH TO INCH OF RAIN EXPECTED TODAY. ACCU-WEATHER SAYS IT APPEARS THE WORST OF HURRICANE SANDY IS BEHIND US AND WE HAVE MORE THAN LIKELY SEEN WATER LEVELS GO ABOUT AS HIGH AS THEY'RE GOING TO GO.
THE LIGHTS REMAIN OUT FOR ROUGHLY A QUARTER OF A MILLION LEHIGH VALLEY HOMES AND BUSINESSES. PPL SAYS MORE THAN 397,000 CUSTOMERS HAVE NO SERVICE AT THIS HOUR WITH A COMBINED 180,000 OF THEM IN LEHIGH AND NORTHAMPTON COUNTIES. MET-ED SAYS IT'S GOT ABOUT 58,000 LEHIGH AND NORTHAMPTON COUNTY CUSTOMERS STILL IN THE DARK. THERE'S NO WORD YET ON WHEN ALL SERVICE MAY BE RESTORED.
NEARLY 2.2 MILLION UTILITY CUSTOMERS IN NEW JERSEY ARE WITHOUT ELECTRICITY DUE TO THE SUPERSTORM THAT'S PUMMELED THE STATE WITH RAIN AND STRONG WINDS. JERSEY CENTRAL POWER & LIGHT REPORTS 933,441 CUSTOMERS WITHOUT SERVICE, MOSTLY IN MONMOUTH, MORRIS AND OCEAN COUNTIES. PUBLIC SERVICE ELECTRIC & GAS SAYS MORE THAN A MILLION CUSTOMERS ARE WITHOUT POWER. ATLANTIC CITY ELECTRIC HAS 207,993 OUTAGES. THE UTILITIES SAY IT MAY TAKE UNTIL WEDNESDAY BEFORE CREWS CAN MAKE A FULL ASSESSMENT OF THE DAMAGE.
AS IS ALWAYS THE CASE IN MAJOR POWER FAILURES, PPL SPOKESMAN JOE NIXON SAYS PATIENCE WILL BE A VIRTUE. "WE WILL GET TO THE REPAIRS AS SOON AS WE CAN SAFELY DO SO. OUR CREWS CANNOT SAFELY WORK OUT THERE WHEN IT'S REALLY WINDY AND THERE ARE HIGH WIND CONDITIONS," NIXON SAYS. HE SAYS YOU NEED TO STAY AWAY FROM ANY DOWNED POWER LINES AND REPORT THEM TO PPL IMMEDIATELY. YOU'RE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT ANY POWER OUTAGE BY CALLING 1-800-DIAL-PPL OR BY GOING TO WWW.PPLELECTRIC.COM.
THREE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN KILLED IN PENNSYLVANIA DUE TO HURRICANE SANDY. SUNDAY, A MAN IN LANCASTER COUNTY WAS KILLED AFTER FALLING FROM A TREE HE WAS TRIMMING IN PREPARATION FOR THE STORM. NEAR MONTROSE, AN 8-YEAR-OLD BOY WAS KILLED WHEN A TREE LIMB FELL ON HIM. NEAR BOYERTOWN, A 62-YEAR-OLD MAN WAS KILLED MONDAY NIGHT WHEN A TREE FELL ON TOP OF A HOUSE.
AUTHORITIES SAY THREE PEOPLE IN NORTHERN NEW JERSEY DIED IN ACCIDENTS INVOLVING TREES THAT WERE TOPPLED BY SUPERSTORM SANDY. MENDHAM TOWNSHIP POLICE SAY A MAN AND A WOMAN WERE KILLED AND TWO CHILDREN WERE INJURED WHEN A LARGE TREE FELL ON THEIR PICKUP TRUCK AROUND 7:30 P.M. MONDAY. MORRIS COUNTY PROSECUTORS SAY THE TREE WAS ESTIMATED TO BE APPROXIMATELY 24-36 INCHES IN DIAMETER. HAWTHORNE POLICE SAY A 77-YEAR-OLD BOROUGH MAN WAS KILLED AROUND 7:15 P.M. MONDAY WHEN A TREE CRASHED INTO HIS HOUSE IN THE PASSAIC COUNTY COMMUNITY.
GOVERNOR TOM CORBETT HAS ORDERED ALL NON-ESSENTIAL STATE EMPLOYEES TO STATE HOME AGAIN TUESDAY DUE TO HURRICANE SANDY. "THIS IS GOING TO BE AN EVENT THAT FOR A PERIOD OF TIME IS GOING TO CHANGE THE WAY WE DO THINGS," CORBETT SAYS. THE GOVERNOR REPEATS HIS WARNINGS THAT SANDY WILL MORE THAN LIKELY CAUSE WIDESPREAD POWER OUTAGES THAT COULD LAST FOR SEVERAL DAYS. HE SAYS HE WILL LIKELY REQUEST A DECLARATION OF MAJOR DISASTER, WHICH WOULD PROVIDE FOR FEDERAL REIMBURSEMENTS FOR A MAJOR PORTION OF STATE AND LOCAL COSTS.
THERE ARE NOW TWO EMERGENCY SHELTERS SET UP IN THE LEHIGH VALLEY. IN ADDITION TO THE RED CROSS SHELTER ESTABLISHED AT 2121 CITY LINE ROAD IN BETHLEHEM, THE RED CROSS HAS NOW OPENED UP A SECOND SHELTER AT THE ALLENTOWN FAIRGROUNDS.
GOVERNOR TOM CORBETT EXTENDED THE DEADLINE FOR ABSENTEE BALLOTS FOR NEXT WEEK'S ELECTIONS FOR COUNTIES WHERE THE COURTHOUSE HAS BEEN CLOSED THIS WEEK DUE TO HURRICANE SANDY. TODAY WAS THE DEADLINE BUT IT HAS BEEN EXTENDED A DAY FOR EACH DAY A COUNTY COURTHOUSE IS CLOSED, BUT THE DEADLINE WILL NOT BE EXTENDED ANY LATER THAN FRIDAY.
THE CITY OF EASTON WILL REMAIN UNDER A STATE OF EMERGENCY UNTIL MIDNIGHT DUE TO HURRICANE SANDY'S RAINFALL AND WINDS. MAYOR SAL PANTO ORDERED A 9PM CURFEW LAST NIGHT, MEANING ONLY THOSE GOING TO OR FROM WORK WERE ALLOWED OUT. PANTO SAYS IT'S THE FIRST TIME HE'S IMPLEMENTED A CURFEW IN HIS THREE TERMS AS MAYOR.
THE APPROACH OF SANDY IS PROMPTING VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN TO CANCEL A CAMPAIGN VISIT THAT HE HAD SCHEDULED TO SCRANTON, THE CITY WHERE HE GREW UP. BIDEN'S VISIT HAD BEEN SCHEDULED FOR THURSDAY, BUT THE CAMPAIGN SAID MONDAY THAT IT WAS CANCELED TO ENSURE THAT ALL LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT RESOURCES CAN FOCUS ON PUBLIC SAFETY DURING THE STORM.
POLICE SAY THEY'VE MADE AN ARREST IN A MONDAY NIGHT MURDER IN ALLENTOWN. ONE PERSON WAS SHOT TO DEATH OUTSIDE A HOME IN THE 700 BLOCK OF EAST ALLEN STREET JUST AFTER 6:30 LAST NIGHT. POLICE AREN'T YET IDENTIFYING THE VICTIM OR THE PERSON IN CUSTODY. IT'S THE 14TH MURDER OF THE YEAR IN ALLENTOWN.
