UPDATED 2X: County Officials Expect Early Arrival for Hurricane Sandy; Trees Begin Falling in Galloway

Hurricane Sandy’s track has accelerated, and is now expected to hit landfall in the evening hours Monday night, Oct. 29, as opposed to the overnight hours as previously reported, Atlantic County officials said Monday afternoon.

County officials warn residents to expect 5-10 inches of rain and wind gusts at 40-50 miles an hour. Wind gusts are expected to reach 75 miles an hour near the coast, according to county officials.

A total of 600 county residents are currently housed in the five county shelters.

The shelters at Buena Middle School and Pleasantville Middle School have reached capacity, but room is still available at the Buena Regional and Pleasantville high schools. St. Augustine Prep School in Richland is also accepting residents who need supervised medical attention.

Galloway Township Middle School is currently open as a "shelter of last resort."

In Atlantic City, ambulance service has been discontinued until further notice because of the storm. However, an EMT is available with fire personnel to provide medical assistance, county officials said.

Water and rescue teams have been deployed to remove those who were trapped in flooded residences in Atlantic City and the West Atlantic City section of Egg Harbor Township, according to county officials.

Rescue operations in the West Atlantic City and Longport Boulevard sections of Egg Harbor Township. The fire department is no longer responding to calls in those areas.

Rescues have also been performed on residents who attempted to drive through flooding and became trapped in their cars, according to county officials.

The 6 p.m.-6 a.m. curfew for the barrier islands was reinstated, and will remain in effect until further notice, county officials said.

The travel ban in the county is in effect until further notice, county officials said.

According to Atlantic City Electric, 139,094 Atlantic County residents are currently without power. In Atlantic City, 2,719 residents are without power, according to the electric company’s outage map.

With much of the island of Brigantine under water, Brigantine Police have said it’s become too late to evacuate.

In Galloway Township, wind has begun to pick up, but power is still intact for much of the township, police said. Galloway Township Police are reporting numerous trees have been felled throughout the township.

Flooding remains the same. According to Chief Patrick Moran, response will come when it is safe for emergency responders to go out. On Sunday night, Mayor Don Purdy said when winds reach 40 miles an hour, responders will not be able to respond, per county mandate.

Moran confirmed a report that a tree has fallen through a house on Cooper Ferry Court, and that emergency responders were en route to the scene.

According to Mike Tidwell, the Stockton Seaview Hotel and Golf Resort still has power, but remains closed. He is hopeful that if the hotel can withstand the storm with power, it can reopen on Wednesday.

The county remains under a State of Emergency, county officials advised. Officials are calling Hurricane Sandy an “unprecedented storm,” and are advising residents to follow all instructions from emergency management officials.