Randall Hill / Reuters

Tim and Jo Ann Griffith struggle to hold on to their umbrella as they walk the pier at Myrtle Beach State Park during Hurricane Sandy in South Carolina, Oct. 27.

Massive Hurricane Sandy continued pushing toward the Eastern Seaboard on Saturday as residents scrambled to prepare for torrential rains, high winds, major flooding and power outages possible from the Carolinas to Cape Cod.

Forecasters warned that the slow-moving behemoth, with tropical storm-force winds extending across 650 miles, could span multiple tides with a storm surge of 4 to 8 feet in Long Island Sound, the southern portion of Lower New York Bay and Delaware Bay.

Rain accumulations of up to 12 inches were likely in some areas, the National Weather Service warned.

-- Reported by NBC News and news services

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Slideshow: Sandy sets sights on East Coast

Jose Luis Magana / AP

After strong winds and heavy rain washed out bridges and damaged homes in multiple countries, the hurricane looks toward the northeastern U.S.

Launch slideshow