Christian relief organizations began to provide food and shelter along the U.S. East Coast to people suffering in the devastating aftermath of superstorm Sandy on Tuesday. By nightfall, the region's death toll reached nearly 50 people and millions remained without power or mass transit.

"We all watched this unique 'superstorm' coming from far off, and could see the potentially devastating course," said Jack Munday, international director of the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team, yesterday. "Sadly, it seems that the worst fears were realized and millions of people are now hurting as a result of Hurricane Sandy. I'm not sure that there are words that can adequately describe the enormity of this massive disaster. We'll do all we can in the face of this catastrophe to offer emotional and spiritual care and the hope and compassion of Jesus Christ."

The team's chaplains trained in crisis-response deployed Tuesday morning from Charlotte with three mobile office units, and were scheduled to head toward northern New Jersey, southern New Jersey, and Philadelphia. After an initial assessment, additional chaplains will arrive from across the United States later this week, said leaders of the renowned evangelist's ministry. more >>

Several Christian disaster relief organizations, including those focused on providing emotional support to victims, announced yesterday that they are ready to head into the heavily damaged areas of northeastern United States in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. As the storm made landfall a little after 8 p.m. EDT, it was declared a post-tropical cyclone with damaging winds reaching lower hurricane strength.

"Three mobile office units will leave Charlotte tomorrow morning headed into the devastation left by Hurricane Sandy," stated the Billy Graham Rapid Response team Monday afternoon. "We will have teams on the ground within 24 hours of the hurricane's passing. Please pray for safety in travel for the chaplain coordinators who will be driving the mobile units, and the volunteer chaplains coming from around the country."

The purpose of the response team, a part of the renowned evangelist's organization, is to "deploy chaplains who will bring a ministry of presence and prayer and appropriately share God's love, comfort, and hope with those affected by a man-made or natural disaster." more >>

An image circulating on the Internet Monday of the Statue of Liberty in New York City overshadowed by ominous clouds brought on by Hurricane Sandy is just one of many Photoshopped images being used by the public to comment on the severe weather.

The frightening photo has actually been recycled numerous times, according to Snopes.com, a source for debunking and confirming rumors.

"[...] it's a digital manipulation created by merging a picture of the Statue of Liberty with a separate photograph of a supercell thunderstorm snapped in Nebraska by photographer Mike Hollingshead on May 28, 2004," Snopes.com reports. more >>

Web users were in awe Monday morning of an image showing Honor Guards standing on duty at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in the face of adverse weather as Hurricane Sandy bore down on the East Coast.

"Soldiers stand guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Guarded non-stop since 1948. In Sandy's path they continue," shared Kristy Bolsinger ‏as she re-tweeted the popular image on Twitter.

Tyler Borchers was so impressed that he used only one word to react to the striking image: "Powerful." more >>

Major East Coast cities – including Washington, Baltimore, New York, Philadelphia and Boston – are bracing for the impact with Hurricane Sandy moving up the Atlantic coast early Sunday amid fears that it might meet two other powerful winter storms to form a hybrid "superstorm" spanning over 700 miles.

As of early Sunday, Sandy remained on track to become a historical storm, according to AccuWeather.com.

National Hurricane Center said Sandy was located about 275 miles south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, with top sustained winds of 75 miles per hour early Sunday. It was moving over the Atlantic parallel to the U.S. coast at 14 miles per hour, but was forecast to make a tight westerly turn toward the coast on Sunday night. more >>

Residents along the East Coast of the U.S. who are in the predicted path of Hurricane Sandy have been marveling at the possibility of encountering what meteorologists and the media are calling the "perfect storm", "Frankenstorm" and a "snor'eastercane", due to the unusual combination of snow, flooding and high winds the storm is predicted to bring.

Hurricane Sandy, which has been barreling its way through the Caribbean at top speeds Thursday, was expected to soon impact the East Coast, eventually coming alongside Florida on Friday and reaching as far north as Massachusetts by next Tuesday, according to CNN.

The hurricane is said to bring by that time a combination of "steady gale-force winds, flooding, heavy rain and possibly snow," the Guardian reported in an article titled "Hurricane Sandy barrels towards the US – will it really be the end of days?" more >>