Tuesday 30 October 2012

Superstorm Leaves 33 Dead, Millions Powerless.



Abc news
Superstorm Sandy Touches Down, Wreaks Havoc on East Coast.
 
OMG.
 
 
  The wrath of superstorm Sandy killed at least 33 people in seven states and left more than 8 million customers without power.
The 33 victims, the AP reported, died as the hurricane tore through states including New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Maryland, North Carolina and West Virginia.
"This was a devastating storm, maybe the worst that we have ever experienced," New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said at a news conference today. Seventeen of the victims were in New York state and 10 of those were in New York City, according to the AP.
The power outages were spread over 18 states Virginia to Maine, and while the number of customers affected was 8 million, the number of people would be several times that number.
This morning, President Obama issued disaster declarations for New York and New Jersey so that federal aid will be offered to the affected areas to help supplement state and local clean-up efforts.


Sandy continued on a ferocious streak early this morning when a berm in Bergen County, N.J., was breached, resulting in four to five feet of water flowing into three towns and endangering as many as 2,000 people, said Jeanne Beratta, spokesperson for the Bergen County Office of Emergency Management.
"We're doing rescues by boat. We're doing rescues with large trucks. We're doing rescues all over those areas," Baratta told "Good Morning America." "It's going to continue all day because now we're just search and rescue."
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said that the state "kind of took it in the neck worse than any other place," but praised Obama and his administration for how they have handled the crisis.
"[Obama] called me last night around midnight to ask what else can be done," Christie told GMA. "I have to say, the administration, the president himself and FEMA administrator Craig Fugate have been outstanding with us so far. We have a great partnership with them and I want to thank the president personally for his personal attention to this."


In New York, the U.S. financial markets closed for a second day today, an unprecedented move for the stock exchange. In Lower Manhattan, the home of the financial district, a blowout at a Con Edison substation cut power to thousands of customers. The outage was likely the result flooding or flying debris, said John Miksad, senior vice president of electrical operations for the company.
Water flooded into parts of New York City's subway system as well as vehicle tunnels; the water even flowed into the site of the 9/11 terror attack. America's largest city was cut off from the outside world after Mayor Michael Bloomberg closed bridges and tunnels and transit systems shut down.

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