UPDATE: Route 18 has been closed in both directions due to flooding, New Brunswick police announced around 8 a.m.

According to PSE&G, between 5,000-10,000 people in New Brunswick were without power around 8 p.m.

Lord Stirling Community School, 101 Redmond St., is open to citizens who need to seek shelter from the storm. About 80 people had come to the shelter as of early Monday night, city spokesman Russell Marchetta said, and there was room for more.

Around 6:30 p.m. Monday, PSE&G's website was reporting anywhere from 2,000-5,000 households in New Brunswick without power.

Hurricane Sandy was predicted to make landfall in Atlantic County between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. Monday. The worst part of the storm for Middlesex County and most of New Jersey is expected to last overnight into Tuesday morning.

New Brunswick residents are asked to stay away from downed wires and report them by calling the police department's non-emergency number at (732) 745-5200.

For updates on the storm, stay in touch with the city's Nixle account at http://local.nixle.com/new-brunswick-police-department.

New Brunswick Patch is also providing updates in real time at our Twitter account, twitter.com/nbrunswickpatch.