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Millions of residents, businesses, and authorities are preparing as the Frankenstorm or Hurricane Sandy barrels toward the East Coast of the United States. New York was partially evacuated Sunday as the whole state braced for the storm winds, snow, and potential storm surge brought by Hurricane Sandy.

The New York subways have also been halted, only the second time in history. Today, the New York Stock Exchange is closed, a fist time since the 9/11 terror attack. The mayor of New York also ordered the evacuation of around 375,000 people while public schools were ordered closed today.

The hurricane has so far claimed sixty-five lives when it battered the Caribbean. The weather experts foresee the storm to hit landfall later today, but gale-force winds have started hitting North Carolina and Virginia since last night.

Thirty people have been reported dead in Ukraine while ten more passed away in Poland following a heavy fall of snow and significant drop in temperatures in eastern and central Europe. Three people also perished in Serbia and another one in Bulgaria succumbed to the extreme weather conditions.

Health officials in Ukraine said that over 600 people asked for treatment after suffering hypothermia and frostbites in just a matter of three days. Almost 24,000 people also evacuated to different shelters across the country seeking protection from the freezing conditions.

Temperatures have dropped to -16C at daytime while it drops further to -23C at night.

Most of the victims were those who were homeless, as authorities discovered their bodies covered by frost on the streets of Ukraine.

Poland has been having a mild winter until last Friday the temperatures dropped to -26C. Initial reports say that majority of the victims were old people and the homeless.