Thousands evacuate in advance of superstorm

Close to 400,000 people were ordered to evacuate coastal areas in the north-eastern US as cities and towns were braced for the onslaught of a “superstorm” threatening some 60m people along the country’s most heavily-populated corridor.

“The time for preparing and talking is about over,” warned Craig Fugate, a federal emergency management administrator, as Hurricane Sandy headed up the Atlantic Coast on a collision course with two other weather systems. “People need to be acting now.”

New York City announced its subways, buses and trains would stop running and its 1.1m-student school system would close.