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Superstorm Sandy: US begins recovery process

People have been struggling to restore power and clear debris after the superstorm hit the east coast of the US.

NEW YORKERS STRUGGLED to restore power and clear debris after superstorm Sandy carved a path of destruction from the Caribbean to Canada that left at least 110 people dead.

The massive cyclone that drove hurricane-force winds and deadly ocean surges against a large swathe of the US East Coast was still generating blizzards in the Appalachians, as millions remained without power and transport was snarled.

A woman shops for groceries by flashlight in the Tribeca neighbourhood of New York yesterday (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Less than a week before Americans go to the polls, President Barack Obama planned to tour flooded areas alongside New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a backer of his Republican rival Mitt Romney.

Romney was meanwhile set to return to the campaign trail in Florida after canceling events Monday and Tuesday to focus on rescue and recovery work, with the race still too close to call as a storm-imposed truce gradually unraveled.

The death toll from accidents related to the storm rose to 43 in North America since Sandy made landfall on Monday, with 67 killed earlier as the then-hurricane tore through the Caribbean.

Restoring services

Meanwhile, authorities and citizens in America’s biggest city struggled to restore vital services and clear debris after a wall of storm-driven seawater swamped road and rail tunnels and triggered massive fires.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg told reporters:

Restoring power and mass transit remain the two biggest challenges in the days ahead. This is the end of the downside, and hopefully from here it is going up.

In the ocean-front Queens neighborhood of Breezy Point, more than 80 houses burned after flooding caused a fire, while lower Manhattan — New York’s iconic high-rise financial center — was blacked out by a massive power cut.

The New York subway system, much of which was flooded by seawater, was still gripped by what management dubbed its worst disaster in its 108-year history.

Obama, who faces a tough re-election battle on November 6, sent his support:

America is with you. We are standing behind you and we are going to do everything we can to help you get back on your feet.

The president said he would tour New Jersey on Wednesday after Christie, the state’s Republican governor, reported “unthinkable” devastation in submerged coastal communities.

Daylight brought surreal images of the storm’s devastation: a boat washed onto a railway track in New York state, cars bobbing like corks in submerged New York City parking lots, and a neighborhood in Queens burnt to cinders.

A fire fighter surveys the smoldering ruins of a house in Breezy Point, New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

More than eight million homes and businesses from the Carolinas to Maine were without power Tuesday, the Department of Energy said, with outages increasing as the still-formidable storm moves west towards the Great Lakes.

Nuclear reactors shut

Three US nuclear power reactors remained shut and a fourth on alert, after storm waters wreaked havoc with transmission networks and cooling systems.

Despite worries that water could overwhelm the reactors, as had happened in Japan’s Fukushima nuclear disaster last year, authorities insisted there were no risks to the public.

Insured losses from the massive superstorm Sandy could run between seven and 15 billion dollars (5.4 to 11.5 billion euros), according to initial industry estimates.

Inland, Sandy dumped three feet (90 centimeters) of snow on high ground in Appalachian states as she headed west and north, spreading blizzard conditions over parts of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

The New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq were shut for their first weather-related closures since Hurricane Gloria in 1985, but both aimed to reopen on Wednesday morning.

The destruction was not limited to New York. Cities up and down the Eastern Seaboard from Boston to Philadelphia to Washington were buffeted by storm-force winds and coastal communities suffered widespread flooding.

Read: NYC tries to recover from storm as marathon nears>

Read: Hurricane Sandy death toll rises to 38 in Caribbean>

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    Mute Gareth (The Chimichurri)
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    Mar 3rd 2021, 11:34 PM

    The variety in these products is just an example of how diverse this market is and why there should be the correct legislation on cannabis in order to kick start our post covid recovery… Legalise, tax and regulate, it’s high time!

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    Mute Ross
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    Mar 3rd 2021, 11:48 PM

    @Gareth (The Chimichurri): a handful of posters on here don’t agree so therefore that shouldn’t happen!

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    Mute Gareth (The Chimichurri)
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    Mar 4th 2021, 12:15 AM

    @Ross: Alas, journal-bubble syndrome!

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    Mute Mattress Dick
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    Mar 4th 2021, 8:09 AM

    @Ross: can’t see the government legalising gateway drugs anytime soon

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    Mute JustBEERbarry
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    Mar 4th 2021, 10:20 AM

    @Mattress Dick: what about mattresses? The government should seek to outlaw them. A complete scourge on society. Nothing good can come from them. There’s a direct correlation between sleepy lazy people, lying down and mattresses. A gateway to societal breakdown. We need a minister for mattresses to curb this horrible infliction on future generations.

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    Mute pbp Bernard Wallace
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    Mar 4th 2021, 10:45 AM

    @Mattress Dick: There is no such thing as a gateway drug. This “theory has been proven false many decades ago. Do keep up

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    Mute Drunk in Dublin
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    Mar 4th 2021, 10:57 AM

    @Mattress Dick: a “gateway” drug, eh? Okay Mrs. Reagan

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    Mute Patrick McCann
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    Mar 6th 2021, 12:21 AM

    @Mattress Dick: the low number of likes should tell you how inaccurate your statement is. besides,alcohol is legal.

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    Mute Kevin
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    Mar 7th 2021, 7:17 PM

    @Mattress Dick:

    The biggest gateway drug (alcohol) has been legal in Ireland since forever. And it is THE NUMERO UNO so called “gateway” drug. Every opiate / Coke /etc addict would have started out on the Devil’s buttermilk (& probably tobacco too).

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    Mute Joe Kennedy
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    Mar 3rd 2021, 11:28 PM

    Dopes trying to bring it in. Hope they can weed out anyone else at it….and give them a hash sentence. People might use the number above to grass on them…..things gone to pot altogether!

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    Mute Paul Somers
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    Mar 3rd 2021, 11:37 PM

    @Joe Kennedy: that’s really funny and gave me a laugh. Thank you.

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    Mute thesaltyurchin
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    Mar 4th 2021, 1:01 PM

    @Joe Kennedy: Ha! very good sir.

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    Mute ⚡ Seánie ⚡
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    Mar 3rd 2021, 11:26 PM

    Hopefully they put the money towards some decent Revenue signs….

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    Mute Gareth (The Chimichurri)
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    Mar 3rd 2021, 11:36 PM

    @⚡ Seánie ⚡: what money? The money they get from selling it back to gangs?

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    Mute Vonvonic
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    Mar 3rd 2021, 10:51 PM

    Wouldn’t they just grow it?

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    Mute Alan Byrne
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    Mar 3rd 2021, 10:55 PM

    @Vonvonic: and wait 4 to 6 months ?, it’s the best way but not everyone has green fingers.

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    Mute thesaltyurchin
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    Mar 4th 2021, 1:03 PM

    @Vonvonic: Automated self grow units are still a little expensive. next few years we’ll see the market become more ‘domesticated’ like the ‘Leaf’ refrigerator, etc.

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    Mute Michael
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    Mar 3rd 2021, 11:34 PM

    I hope the Garda call to the address the drug’s are being delivered to. Before the journal tells them.

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    Mute Jazz Buckler
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    Mar 4th 2021, 12:11 AM

    @Michael: drugs

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    Mute Tom
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    Mar 4th 2021, 1:48 PM

    @Michael: would that make you happy? You must be fun at parties

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    Mute Damian Clarke
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    Mar 4th 2021, 8:00 AM

    How annoyed would you be, you order a load of coffee pods and this arrives, they would not get a 5 star rating I’ll tell you that.

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    Mute Ann Mc Shane
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    Mar 3rd 2021, 11:49 PM

    Liked and shared

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    Mute merely ed
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    Mar 4th 2021, 4:14 AM

    @Ann Mc Shane: …lifetime subscription here;)

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    Mute Liam Meade
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    Mar 4th 2021, 8:30 AM

    Mmmmmmm coffee….

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    Mute Drunk in Dublin
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    Mar 4th 2021, 10:56 AM

    Luckily cannabis grows right out of the ground so, big deal.

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