Updated

The pharmaceutical industry has activated an emergency website to help patients affected by Superstorm Sandy find nearby pharmacies that are open.

The pharmacy status site, called Rx Response, is at www.rxresponse.org/PharmacyStatus/Pages/default.aspx .

It's been activated in the District of Columbia and 11 states: Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia and West Virginia.

With widespread power outages in those areas, many pharmacies aren't open. Patients who evacuated from coastal areas may have left behind their medications and those with darkened homes may not be able to find them. Others may need to fill a new prescription.

The site was created after Hurricane Katrina by the drugmaker trade group, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, and other groups involved in the medicine supply chain.