Hurricane Sandy takes its toll on Maryland

>>> hour, we are back with our live continuing coverage of sandy and i was checking out the latest in the baltimore sun newspaper. they are talking about gale force winds and very, very strong damage from the eastern shore to the western mountains of that state. i'm joined on the phone now by anthony brown . lieutenant governor, what's the worst situation you have right now? what's your biggest concern?

>> right now our biggest concern continues to be sort of life-saving operations and, you know, minimizing loss of life and injury due to flooding, wind and debris downed power line . fortunately it's at night, people are in their homes. but tomorrow that activity will continue. sandy's been big and powerful and has really pounded maryland . we had -- we will have up to two feet of snow in western maryland . coastal flooding on the eastern shore of maryland and about 350,000 home without power throughout the state. so certainly hurricane sandy has taken its toll on maryland .

>> the national weather service said that the flooding along the potomac river is the worst that they've recorded in 16 years. what are some of the problems that you're hearing in that part of the state?

>> sure. we're hearing flooding throughout the state, the potomac, also in the lower shore of maryland we're hearing reports from the field similar to what you just reported, that people are saying 50 years, 60 years haven't seen this much flooding. we had to evacuate residences in chris field maryland on the lower shore. we have 41 shelters opened. about 1200 or more marylanders are currently sheltering in these areas, shelters around the state. so we're seeing flooding that, you know, most of us, many of us have not seen before in maryland .

>> i'm also reading reports about trees down in maryland . have you had a lot of rain where the root systems may have been particularly wet?

>> certainly. northeast maryland , which is, you know, close to the delaware and pennsylvania border, a lot of rain there. power outages are at the highest levels there. but also on the lower shore of maryland as well as southern maryland . you know, tremendous amount of precipitation and winds and then, as you mentioned, the root system of trees tend toway, and so tomorro w we're expecting to see a lot of downed trees, downed wires, and power outages that will probably last days, if not, you know, into, you know, early next week. and certainly don't want to be in the business of forecasting when we'll restore power, but just sufficient e it to say it's going to be a long time before we get all homes and businesses restored power.

>> you think it could be until next week, some people will continue to not have electricity?

>> yeah, it will be quite some time. we, you know, our utilities have requested mutual assistance from other states. i know we'll be competing with surrounding states for that same assistance. but i think it's going to be -- it's going to be quite a few days until we restore all families and businesses, all homes and businesses to power in maryland .

>> i know today a lot of businesses were shut. schools were closed. colleges and universities closed. you're expecting the same tomorrow?

>> yeah, tomorrow, maryland state government will be closed. the federal government announced that certainly the national capital region , federal offices will be closed. all of our k-12 schools are closed. most if not all of our colleges will close. and this gives us the opportunity to begin sort of the inspection of critical infrastructure and government facilities that we can ensure, you know, the continuity of government operations. so, you know, by keeping the workforce at home, it will enable essential personnel to go in and do the work that they need to do before we bring back the workforce.

>> maryland lieutenant governor anthony brown , thank you so much, sir. good luck.

>> thank you.

>> and reports of two deaths now in pennsylvania . confirmed in the wake of this massive storm. an 8-year-old boy in susquehanna county died when a tree limb fell on him in franklin township . we're also hearing a 62-year-old man died after a tree fell on top of a house in pike township near boyerstown. that's the second time we've actually heard one in new york and one now in pennsylvania of a tree falling into a house and killing the person inside. again, a lot of new information coming in. virtually every minute now. we're going to keep you updated throughout the evening and into the early morning hours. you're watching msnbc's coverage of sandy.