East Coast-based industry professionals have been revising itineraries frantically as they attempt to reach Santa Monica in time for the first day of the market on Wednesday (31).

Ferocious weather conditions have battered New York and surrounding Eastern regions ever since the storm made landfall on Monday, leaving airline and train schedules in tatters.

FilmNation CEO Glen Basner [pictured] said he caught the last flight out of New York on Sunday night and Cargo Entertainment president of distribution Mark Lindsay was another New Yorker who departed early.

Meanwhile others such as Sundance Selects/IFC Films svp of acquisitions and productions Arianna Bocco and Visit Films head Ryan Kampe announced on Facebook pages that they do not expect to reach the West Coast until at least Wednesday. Flights in some New York airports are unlikely to resume until Tuesday at the earliest.

By Monday evening East Coast time the storm, which was downgraded from a hurricane to a post-tropical cyclone, was generating 80mph winds and authorities said more than 1.5m people had lost power.

Trading on the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq will remain suspended on Tuesday and federal government offices in Washington DC are expected to remain closed until Wednesday.

According to reports the Caribbean death toll from Hurricane Sandy was understood to have reached 69 over the weekend.

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