As Hurricane Sandy hits, the wave of power outages affecting New York has begun. Throughout the state, thousands are without power and as Hurricane Sandy climbed up the Northeast coast and left millions without power.

In New York, most of Lower Manhattan is without power, reports The Associated Press. Speaking to Chris Olert, the Consolidated Edison spokesperson, the power was out for residents and businesses south of 26th street in the west side, while power out was out on the east side south of 29th street. The number of people affected was approximately 250,000, although Olert believes that number will be much higher. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that power outages extend from 39th street south to Battery Park City.

In Somers, New York, approximately 6,000 residents had lost power due to Hurricane Sandy on Monday afternoon, reports Somers Daily Voice. Currently, just over 2,000 residents were without power on Monday night. In Tuckahoe and Bronxville, NY, Con Ed has reported that 972 Tuckahoe residents and 846 Bronxville residents were without power, reports Eastchester Daiy Voice.

The Long Island Power Authoity is reporting that over 900,000 customers in Long Island, New York are without power.

In Virginia, more than 100,000 people were without power. According to the Associated Press, around 117,000 Dominion Virginia Power customers were without power. Hurricane Sandy is supposed to hit parts of Virginia with not just rain and high winds, but heavy blizzards. In western Virginia, only 4,100 customers of Appalachian Power had reporter power outages although the company expects the number to climb dramatically as the blizzard hits on Tuesday. An additional 2,360 Virginia residents were also without power, reports AP.

According to The Wall Street Journal, nearly 385,000 Massachusetts residents were without power as of 8pm. It's still unsafe to send workers to repair damaged lines and restore power.

In New Jersey, more than one million residents are without power, reports The Star Ledger. According to the reports, 512 customers of Jersey Central Power & Light were without power. Ocean County and Monmouth County have also reported widespread power outages, 145,000 residents of Ocean County and 155,000 residents of Monmouth County. Public Electric Service & Gas reported 398, 0000 customers were without power. Atlantic City Electric is reporting power outages for 129,000 customers, The Star Ledger reports. The Barrier Islands, Margate City, Longport and Ventnor City were also reporting power outages.

Vermont has over 170,000 residents who are reportedly without power. Counties affected include Addison, Bennington, Caledonia, Essex, Franklin, Lamoille, Orange, Orleans, Rutland, Washington, Windham and Windsor.

Washington D.C. along with the 11 other states affected by Hurricane Sandy, CNN is reporting that 2.8 million people are without power.

To contact the editor, e-mail: