New York has called up 1,000 extra troops from the National Guard as "superstorm" Hurricane Sandy bears down on the city.
Heavy rain and strong winds have started lashing the northeast of the US, with the public safety director of Atlantic City declaring that the majority of his city is "underwater".
As forecasters warn New York could bear the brunt of the one-of-a-kind storm - dubbed a "Frankenstorm" - New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg gave last-minute advice to citizens before the "massive" hurricane hits.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg gave advice to citizens unable to leave New York Urging people to follow evacuation orders if they still can, he said: "If you don't evacuate, you are not only endangering your life, you are also endangering the lives of the first responders who are going to rescue you."
He said around 3,000 people have reached 76 emergency public shelters around the city, with a combination of the storm surge, coastal flooding and a ferocious blizzard posing the greatest threat.
Sandy is on a collision course with two other weather systems leading to fears it could develop into one of the worst storms on record in the US.
Floodwater has inundated the Atlantic City boardwalk (Twitter.com/hoeboma) The storm is threatening up to 50m people on the heavily populated East Coast, and forecasters say it could wreak havoc over 800 miles (1,280km) from the Atlantic coast to the Great Lakes.
Authorities are warning New York could be hit with an 11ft (3.3-metre) wall of water that could swamp parts of lower Manhattan, flood subway tunnels and cripple the network of electrical and communications lines that are vital to the nation's financial centre.
:: Live Updates on Hurricane Sandy
Sandy, a Category 1 hurricane, is currently about 380 miles (615km) southeast of New York City, with winds of about 85mph (140kph).
Flooding in Norfolk, Virginia The US National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said it strengthened as it turned toward the coast on a predicted path toward New York, Washington, Baltimore and Philadelphia. It is moving at 15 mph (24 kph).
The centre of the storm is expected to come ashore on Monday night in New Jersey, meaning the worst of the storm surge could be in the northern part of that state and in New York City and on Long Island.
The massive storm, which is hundreds of miles across, is set to stay until at least mid-week, bringing hurricane winds, flooding rains and snow in the Appalachian mountains.
President Obama faced driving rain as he returned to Washington Hundreds of thousands of people have already evacuated coastal areas, but much focus remains on New York.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo urged residents to use common sense and stay indoors.
"The worst is still coming," he said.
People have been ordered to leave low-lying coastal areas New York and other cities shut down schools and suspended all train, bus and subway services on Sunday night because of the risk of flooding.
Nearly the entire coastline of Staten Island has been evacuated. Parts of lower Manhattan, like Battery Park and Ground Zero, have also been evacuated amid the threat of flooding.
All US stock markets will be closed on Monday and possibly Tuesday, the operator of the New York Stock Exchange said, reversing an earlier plan that would have kept electronic trading going on Monday.
A state of emergency has already been declared in nine states - including New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts.
The Belle Harbor section of the Queens borough of New York US President Barack Obama has cancelled a planned campaign appearance in Florida and returned to Washington to oversee the federal government's response to the ever-threatening hurricane.
Mr Obama promised the government would "respond big and respond fast" after the storm hits.
"My message to the governors as well as to the mayors is anything they need, we will be there, and we will cut through red tape. We are not going to get bogged down with a lot of rules," he said.
His election rival Mitt Romney announced he would cancelled planned campaign appearances on Monday night and throughout Tuesday as the nation's attention turns to the storm.
Airlines have cancelled more than 7,600 flights, with British Airways, Virgin and American Airlines have halted some departures to the eastern coat of the US.
As the hurricane approached the coast, rescuers have saved 14 crew members of HMS Bounty stranded on lifeboats near the eye of storm - but two remain missing.
Sandy was blamed for 69 deaths in the Caribbean before it began travelling northward parallel to the eastern seaboard.
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