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THE TOLL OF death and suffering from superstorm Sandy mounted today even as New York struggled back to life, with the first subway trains rolling in four days.
New York mayor Michael Bloomberg said Sandy killed at least 37 people in the city and the number was likely to mount. At least 85 people have now been reported dead across the 15 states hit by the hurricane on Monday night.
Fuel shortages led to long lines of cars at filling stations in many states and the country faced a storm bill of tens of billions of dollars.
More bodies are being found as police and fire-fighters continue “their lifesaving mission, going block-by-block and door-to-door in the areas devastated by the hurricane,” Bloomberg said.
With about 650,000 people still without power in New York, Bloomberg said the city would start handing out food and water and that National Guard and police would go into high-rise buildings to help the elderly.
The Con-Edison power company said that some New Yorkers would have to wait until 11 November before electricity is restored.
National Guard troops helped rescue people trapped in flooded homes across the Hudson River from New York in Hoboken. They had rescued 2,000 people in New Jersey in two days, Defense Department spokesman George Little said.
Hoboken authorities estimated on Wednesday that 20,000 people were stuck in their homes and high-wheel military trucks were brought in to reach stricken houses and apartment blocks.
New Jersey, which President Barack Obama visited on Wednesday, emerged as the state with the most widespread destruction.
At least 12 people were reported dead in the state, and many isolated districts were still being searched.
Some 1.8 million people in New Jersey were still without electricity three days after the storm and fuel shortages were becoming critical, with huge queues of cars at the rare gas stations open in the state.
About half of gas stations in New Jersey and the New York region had closed down becasue of power cuts or fuel shortages, officials said.
But the first subway trains brought some cheer to New York City.
A skeleton service started just before dawn and trains were quickly packed. Trains were to be free on Thursday and Friday. “It is not comfortable but it is a huge relief to get moving again,” said commuter Dave Stetman.
On Wednesday, in a bid to avoid gridlock, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said that until Friday cars entering Manhattan must carry at least three people. Police set up checkpoints at bridges and turned back hundreds of cars.
Con Edison said that more than 200,000 Manhattan customers blacked out by an explosion at a sub-station would have power by Saturday morning.
But it said 100,000 cases of trees and other objects bringing down power lines had been reported, so full city-wide electricity restoration would take until November 11.
Some heartbreaking stories have emerged from the storm.
Two brothers, aged two and four, were swept from their mother’s arms in the floods as the family tried to escape the rising seas in Staten Island in the New York suburbs.
Glenda Moore’s car became stuck in the water and she was carrying the boys to seek help when they were swept away, the New York Post said. Police said they were still looking for the boys, Connor aged four and Brandon aged two.
Others victims were electrocuted or drowned in flooded basements. A growing number of people were killed by poisoning from the fumes given off by diesel generators put into use since the storm.
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Terrible what happened in New York but why are the Caribbean countries who equally suffered in the same storm not mentioned by the media?
250,000 homeless in Haiti but they’re brown people so who cares.
@Derek…Brown people?? They arent made from fudge. Their Black Dude.
Places like Bangladesh get flooded regularly and thousands are killed and others made homeless.
I guess this event is getting major media coverage because new York is a major World City.
Its amazing how the US can spend billions blowing up countries to secure natural resources in the name of that ‘ Freedom’ nonsense and yet they cant prepare adequately for the devastation that natural force decides to throw back at them…
When 40,000 lose their lives in flooding say in the Far East in monsoons…the latest meltdown or fight on X Factor will make the headlines instead…shameful world.
When 40,000 lose their lives in flooding say in the Far East in monsoons…the latest meltdown or fight on X Factor will make he headlines instead…shameful world.
I’m living here in NY and its terrible to see and hear about the suffering. As sad as it is to hear about the Caribbean , NY is a major part of the economic and financial world and its sad to constantly read fellow Irish writing anti American statements.
Not anti American people at all, far from it, just highlighting the lack of media and social attention on poorer countries as if poorer people don’t matter.
Cuba hit full force 4 people died power on the next day.
My God those uneducated,backward,communist,dictatorship lead Cubans,if i had choice to live US r Cuba i would choose the latter
Jack, according to one news source, Havana is now 4 days without power or running water.
Poor Mum who lost her two little boys. Conor and Brandon.Suffering is suffering no matter where you are in the world. New York or Haiti. So terribly sad.!
Meanwhile the people of Haiti and Cuba still suffer!!
Disaster Capitalism.
Last week here it was a bunch if whiners saying the media were exaggerating , asking why the fuss at all when it’s only a “bit if wind and rain” …..now 30 plus people have died and the whiners are complaining the media aren’t giving enough coverage to hurricanes , damned if you do damned of you don’t.
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