Storm-battered US sifts through Sandy's wreckage
NEW YORK: Americans sifted through the wreckage of superstorm Sandy on Wednesday as millions remained without power and President Barack Obama prepared to visit areas hardest hit by the...
October 31, 2012
The storm carved a trail of devastation across New York City and New Jersey, killing dozens of people in several states, swamping miles of coastline, and throwing the tied-up White House race into disarray just days before the vote.
Obama planned to tour flooded areas alongside New Jersey Governor Chris Christie as his Republican rival Mitt Romney was set to ease his way back onto the campaign trail in Florida after a storm-imposed virtual hiatus.
New York City authorities were meanwhile struggling to restore vital services and clear debris after a wall of storm-driven seawater flooded lower Manhattan, swamped road and rail tunnels and triggered fires.
"Restoring power and mass transit remain the two biggest challenges in the days ahead," New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg told reporters Tuesday, as rescue crews and utility workers surveyed an apocalyptic scene.
"This is the end of the downside, and hopefully from here it is going up."
The New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq aimed to reopen Wednesday after their first weather-related closures since Hurricane Gloria in 1985, and the John F. Kennedy and Newark Liberty international airports were set to reopen at 7:00 am (1100 GMT), with limited services. La Guardia Airport remains closed.
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, and the New Jersey coastline remains a scene of sprawling devastation.
Obama, who faces a tough re-election battle on November 6, was set to tour some of the worst-hit areas with Christie -- a prominent Republican and Romney supporter -- who described the destruction as "unthinkable."
"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," Obama said Tuesday.
On Tuesday the death toll from the storm rose to 43 in North America, in addition to the 67 people killed as Sandy swept through the Caribbean as a hurricane last week.
