Coast Guard official: Hurricane Sandy ‘could be bad, or it could be devastation’

Greg Botelho, CNN
5 minute read
Updated 10:13 PM EDT, Sun October 28, 2012
Atlantic City, New Jersey, resident Kim Johnson inspects the area around her apartment building, which flooded on Tuesday, October 30. Large sections of an old boardwalk also were destroyed by Superstorm Sandy. Nearly 11,000 people spent Monday night in 258 Red Cross-operated shelters across 16 states because of Sandy, the American Red Cross tells CNN.<strong> </strong><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/30/us/gallery/ny-sandy/index.html"><strong>View photos of New York recovering from impact</strong></a><strong>.</strong>
Sandy's destructive path —
Atlantic City, New Jersey, resident Kim Johnson inspects the area around her apartment building, which flooded on Tuesday, October 30. Large sections of an old boardwalk also were destroyed by Superstorm Sandy. Nearly 11,000 people spent Monday night in 258 Red Cross-operated shelters across 16 states because of Sandy, the American Red Cross tells CNN. View photos of New York recovering from impact.
Getty Images
Cars float in a flooded parking area on Tuesday in the financial district of New York.
Sandy's destructive path —
Cars float in a flooded parking area on Tuesday in the financial district of New York.
Getty Images
A power line knocked over by a falling tree blocks a street on Tuesday in Chevy Chase, Maryland.
Sandy's destructive path —
A power line knocked over by a falling tree blocks a street on Tuesday in Chevy Chase, Maryland.
AFP/Getty Images
Waves break next to an apartment building in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on Tuesday.
Sandy's destructive path —
Waves break next to an apartment building in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on Tuesday.
Getty Images
Workers shovel debris from the streets in Ocean City, Maryland, on Tuesday.
Sandy's destructive path —
Workers shovel debris from the streets in Ocean City, Maryland, on Tuesday.
AFP/Getty Images
A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter flies over Central Park in New York City.
Sandy's destructive path —
A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter flies over Central Park in New York City.
Getty Images
A man jogs near a darkened Manhattan skyline on Tuesday after much of New York City lost electricity.
Sandy's destructive path —
A man jogs near a darkened Manhattan skyline on Tuesday after much of New York City lost electricity.
Getty Images
Workers clear a tree blocking East 96th Street in Central Park in New York on Tuesday.
Sandy's destructive path —
Workers clear a tree blocking East 96th Street in Central Park in New York on Tuesday.
Getty Images
Rising water rushes into an underground parking garage in New York's financial district on Monday, October 29.
Sandy's destructive path —
Rising water rushes into an underground parking garage in New York's financial district on Monday, October 29.
Getty Images
Taxis drive down a New York street where the power was out late Monday, October 29.
Sandy's destructive path —
Taxis drive down a New York street where the power was out late Monday, October 29.
Getty Images
A firefighter speaks to a colleague while surveying damage caused by Sandy on Monday in New York.
Sandy's destructive path —
A firefighter speaks to a colleague while surveying damage caused by Sandy on Monday in New York.
Getty Images
Flooded cars line the streets of New York's financial district Monday night.
Sandy's destructive path —
Flooded cars line the streets of New York's financial district Monday night.
Getty Images
A truck drives by a flooded gas station in the Gowanus section of Brooklyn on Monday.
Sandy's destructive path —
A truck drives by a flooded gas station in the Gowanus section of Brooklyn on Monday.
Getty Images
A flooded street is seen at nightfall during the storm on Monday in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Sandy's destructive path —
A flooded street is seen at nightfall during the storm on Monday in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Getty Images
Firefighters evaluate an apartment building in New York that had the front wall collapse during the storm on Monday.
Sandy's destructive path —
Firefighters evaluate an apartment building in New York that had the front wall collapse during the storm on Monday.
Getty Images
Heavy rains fall in Manhattan on Monday.
Sandy's destructive path —
Heavy rains fall in Manhattan on Monday.
Getty Images
People walk through water on the beach near high tide Monday as Sandy approaches Atlantic City.
Sandy's destructive path —
People walk through water on the beach near high tide Monday as Sandy approaches Atlantic City.
AFP/Getty Images
Two men run down Foster Avenue while dodging high winds and waves from the storm on Monday in Marshfield, Massachusetts.
Sandy's destructive path —
Two men run down Foster Avenue while dodging high winds and waves from the storm on Monday in Marshfield, Massachusetts.
Reuters/Landov
An emergency vehicle plows through floodwaters on Monday in Dewey Beach, Delaware.
Sandy's destructive path —
An emergency vehicle plows through floodwaters on Monday in Dewey Beach, Delaware.
Reuters/Landov
A person tries to cross the street during the storm on Monday in Atlantic City.
Sandy's destructive path —
A person tries to cross the street during the storm on Monday in Atlantic City.
XINHUA/LANDOV
A traffic sign warns motorists west of Philadelphia on Monday.
Sandy's destructive path —
A traffic sign warns motorists west of Philadelphia on Monday.
UPI/Landov
A wall of water makes its way to shore as residents brave the storm Monday in Ocean City, Maryland.
Sandy's destructive path —
A wall of water makes its way to shore as residents brave the storm Monday in Ocean City, Maryland.
Reuters/Landov
A downed tree and fallen power lines lie over homes Monday on Harvard Street in Garden City, New York.
Sandy's destructive path —
A downed tree and fallen power lines lie over homes Monday on Harvard Street in Garden City, New York.
Newsday/MCT/Landov
Two people shoot video along Brooklyn Heights' Promenade on Monday as Sandy approaches landfall.
Sandy's destructive path —
Two people shoot video along Brooklyn Heights' Promenade on Monday as Sandy approaches landfall.
Getty Images
Work crews push sand from a roadway in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, due to storm surge related to flooding on Monday.
Sandy's destructive path —
Work crews push sand from a roadway in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, due to storm surge related to flooding on Monday.
Sun Sentinel/Getty Images
Two women battle wind and rain with umbrellas in hand in Philadelphia on Monday.
Sandy's destructive path —
Two women battle wind and rain with umbrellas in hand in Philadelphia on Monday.
Getty Images
Kira Brizill leads family members as high tide and winds flood the street on Monday in Freeport, New York.
Sandy's destructive path —
Kira Brizill leads family members as high tide and winds flood the street on Monday in Freeport, New York.
Getty Images
John Edgecombe II, who is homeless, takes refuge from the rain and wind at a bus stop in Ward Circle in Washington on Monday.
Sandy's destructive path —
John Edgecombe II, who is homeless, takes refuge from the rain and wind at a bus stop in Ward Circle in Washington on Monday.
AFP/Getty Images
Superstorm Sandy dumped a lot of rain, flooding a part of Greenpoint, Brooklyn
Sandy's destructive path —
Superstorm Sandy dumped a lot of rain, flooding a part of Greenpoint, Brooklyn
A Pennsylvania Department of Transportation truck slowly drives on the Pennsylvania Turnpike as Sandy approaches Bensalem, Pennsylvania, on Monday.
Sandy's destructive path —
A Pennsylvania Department of Transportation truck slowly drives on the Pennsylvania Turnpike as Sandy approaches Bensalem, Pennsylvania, on Monday.
Getty Images