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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