Obama approves emergency declaration for Connecticut

(WTNH) -- The governor's office says President Obama has approved Gov. Malloy's request to declare a pre-landfall emergency in Connecticut. It means the state can request federal funding and other assistance even before Sandy arrives.

“As each forecast has come in, it’s become more and more clear that this storm will have a major impact on Connecticut. We cannot wait until after it hits to begin the process of seeking emergency assistance," Gov. Malloy said in a statement. "State emergency management personnel under my direction have already been working with the FEMA team assigned to Connecticut to coordinate these efforts, understanding the urgency our residents are facing.”

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National Hurricane Center's 11 pm headline: Sandy about to start its northward turn...Expected to bring life-threatening storm surge...Coastal hurricane winds and heavy Appalachian snows...

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NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) -- Many Connecticut residents have been ordered to evacuate their homes as super-storm Sandy threatens flood low-lying areas.

On Sunday, mandatory evacuations were issued for residents in Bridgeport, East Haven, Guilford, New Haven, Old Lyme, Old Saybrook, and several other Connecticut towns.

Additionally, a number of cities and towns across the state issued voluntary evacuations. A complete list can be found here .

In a press conference Sunday, Governor Dannel Malloy said there will be four high tides affecting the state, the worst of which will be late Monday night.

Malloy said they expect to have more than 800 National Guardsmen in state for the storm.

During the press conference, Malloy warned residents to listen to officials when told to evacuate and to make sure their gas tanks are full and that they have what they need to ride out the storm.

In terms of transportation, MTA/Metro-North shutdown at 7 p.m. Sunday, CT Transit service ends at midnight Sunday, Amtrak trains are canceled Monday, GBTD service ends at midnight Sunday, and Tweed Airport is closing Sunday evening. CT highways and Bradley International Airport remain open until further notice.

Unlike Tropical Storm Irene of last year, this storm is expected to last longer and threatens to bring water a couple of feet higher than Irene.

We're expecting high tides in Groton at about 9:30 p.m. Sunday and 9:30 a.m. Monday. High tide will be in Stamford at about 11:30 p.m. Sunday and 11:40 a.m. Monday. The storm could last up to 36-hours, with the first winds from Sandy being felt Sunday night.

The state Emergency Operations Center, which was partially activated Saturday, will be fully activated later this morning.

"This could be bad. Really bad," Gov. Dannel Malloy said Saturday after a telephone meeting with municipal leaders.

Already the state has National Guard Units at the ready training, and additional state police will be on duty.

Connecticut's major electric utilities, Connecticut Light & Power and United Illuminating, were preparing for worst case scenarios of more than half their customers losing power.

In Sunday's press conference, CL&P official Bill Quinlan said they expect to have 1,060 line workers available to them, in addition to their CL&P crews. They also expect to have 500 tree crews.

Additionally, United Illuminating expects to have 290 linemen available, 170 tree crews, and 60 service crews.

In a Sunday evening press conference, the Governor told residents to prepare themselves for widespread, long-lasting power outages. He also said that Sandy is unlike any storm that the state has ever seen before.

Malloy ordered all non-essential state employees not to report in to work Monday.

Shoreline towns which issued evacuation orders opened shelters to house people with no other place to go.

Stores were packed with shoppers looking for flashlights, generators, water and anything they didn't already have in their emergency kit. Shelves that would normally be stocked with water were barren as people made sure they had what they needed for their families.