A man crosses the street in front of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, Oct. 29, 2012. Hurricane Sandy continued on its path Monday, forcing the shutdown of mass transit, schools and financial markets, sending coastal residents fleeing, and threatening a dangerous mix of high winds and soaking rain. There had been plans to allow electronic trading to go forward on the New York Stock Exchange but with a storm surge expected to cover parts of lower Manhattan in water, officials decided late Sunday that it was too risky to ask any personnel to staff the exchanges. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

A Cromer man has described the eerie emptiness on the streets of the Big Apple today as New Yorkers batten down the hatches.

Keith Hindle

Keith Hindle, 43, watched the usually congested streets clear as 60mph winds whipped his home in east midtown Manhattan ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Sandy.

“It’s like one of those movies where Manhattan is suddenly empty,” said Mr Hindle, a media executive who has lived in New York for 11 years.

“There are one or two cars moving about, and virtually no one out on the street.”

The advance warning of the storm had allowed people time to take precautionary measures, and the authorities to issue advice to “stock up and stay at home”, he said.

Mr Hindle’s wife, Veronika, and two-year-old daughter, Holly, left early for a trip to Miami to avoid Sandy’s arrival.

“The preparations seem very well organised. It’s not always that way but we had several days’ warning and the authorities have got their acts in order,” he said.

The main concern for people in Manhattan is the threat of flooding, with power and transport networks at risk if the water rises, he added.

“Everyone knows it will blow over in a couple of days, but the question is how uncomfortable is your life going to be for that time,” he said.

“There’s not fear here but there are real precautions, because some people will unquestionably lose their homes.”