Sandy: NYC mayor warns of 'serious and dangerous storm'

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has warned of a "serious, dangerous storm" as he ordered the mandatory evacuation of parts of the city.

Mr Bloomberg said that the mandatory evacuation would apply to residents of Zone A, which covers coastal areas such as Coney Island.

Hurricane Sandy is swirling towards the US, with winds of 75mph (120km/h) which are set to intensify as it merges with a wintry storm from the western US.

Sandy has already killed 60 people in the Caribbean and states of emergency have been declared in Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington DC and a coastal county in North Carolina.