Hurricane Sandy Knocks Out Power to 10K, Causes More Closings

Hurricane Sandy, the largest storm ever in the Atlantic basin, didn't spare locals as it roared ashore Monday evening, knocking out power to at least 18,000 people in Camden County, including at least 10,000 in Cherry Hill alone through late Monday night.

Power lines were down in numerous areas around the township, including a string of utility poles along Route 38 westbound, which was shut down around Mall Drive. PSE&G crews worked through the day, but operations shut down in the late afternoon and were not expected to start up again until some time Tuesday morning, Cherry Hill police said.

In the wake of the storm, , though emergency personnel, including police, firefighters and public works remained on the job into the night to handle the damage.

The storm left firefighters and police scrambling around the township to tackle downed trees and power lines throughout the day and into the night, starting with a report of a tree crashing on to a car on Route 295 around 8 a.m. Monday.

As winds picked up, the reports continued to filter in and emergency workers posted photos and videos online of arcing wires and downed trees.

Besides fallen trees and street flooding, there was a report of a sinkhole opening up on Harrowgate Drive in the afternoon.

As rain swelled creeks around the township, concerns over the stability of the Evans Mill Dam led to the evacuation of the Farrell Place Mobile Home Park and some homes along Park Boulevard, all of which are in a flood zone.

Road flooding was widespread through the day, though by itself wasn't enough to close any roads. Chapel Avenue was mostly covered by water in several places—when it wasn't blocked by fallen trees. A little less than three inches of rain fell through the course of the day, as measured at the Rutgers climatology station off Park Boulevard.

Also among the effects from the storm is the cancellation of trick-or-treating on Oct. 31—township officials were going to wait until Tuesday to make a decision, but by Monday evening had , from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

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