UPDATED: Power Outages Piling Up in Pat-Med

The worst of Hurricane Sandy is yet to arrive and already more than 268,000 people are without power on Long Island, according to LIPA. 

As of 4:48 p.m. there were 1,437 outages reported in East Patchogue, 111 in Medford, 27 in North Patchogue and fewer than 5 in Patchogue. 

LIPA has already warned that outages could last anywhere from 7-10 days. 

This statement was posted on LIPA's website Monday morning:

We will continue to restore power to the maximum extent possible, keeping in mind that the safety of the public and our workforce is the highest priority. Due to the high sustained wind speeds and localized flooding, work on overhead lines will be delayed for long periods of time until conditions once again become safe for our crews, which based on the current weather forecast, will be Tuesday morning. Ground work restoration will continue as conditions allow.

LIPA is recommending that customers pre-register their cell phones to report outages and receive restoration updates via text. To register, text REG to 695472 (myLIPA). After registration, to report an outage, text OUT to 695472 (myLIPA).

Customers can also report outages by calling 1-800-490-0075.