AVON LAKE (AP):

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney curtailed his campaigning yesterday as Hurricane Sandy churned closer to the East Coast and urged supporters to donate to the Red Cross or other relief agencies gearing up to help storm victims.

"Do your very best to help," he urged them.

Romney was scheduled to go ahead with a rally yesterday afternoon in Iowa, but cancelled an evening event in Wisconsin. He also will not campaign in Ohio and Iowa today as planned. His campaign has mobilised campaign staff across Virginia, which was lashed by the storm, to collect donations for victims and he called on others in the hurricane's path to remove yard signs that could become dangerous projectiles in windy conditions.

Locked in a close race, the storm has created major headaches for both presidential candidates eight days before the November 6 election.