A new update from CBC News: Sandy leaves 40 dead, millions without power in U.S. Excerpt:
The misery of superstorm Sandy's devastation grew Tuesday as millions along the U.S. East Coast faced life without power or mass transit for days, and huge swaths of New York City remained eerily quiet. The U.S. death toll climbed to 40, many of the victims killed by falling trees, and rescue work continued.
The storm that made landfall in New Jersey on Monday evening with hurricane force cut power to more than 8.2 million across the northeast and put the presidential campaign on hold just one week before Election Day.
New York City was among the hardest hit, with its financial heart closed for a second day. The storm caused the worst damage in the 108-year history of the city's subway system.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg said it could be four or five days before the biggest U.S. transit system was running again.
"This was a devastating storm, maybe the worst that we have ever experienced," Bloomberg said.
"Restoring power and mass transit remain the two biggest challenges in the days ahead," Bloomberg said. "That recovery is a mammoth job."
The mayor said Tuesday evening at least 18 people were killed in New York City as a result of the storm.
The extent of the damage in New Jersey was revealed as morning arrived. Emergency crews fanned out to rescue hundreds.
A hoarse-voiced New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie gave bleak news at a morning news conference: Seaside rail lines washed away. No safe place on the state's barrier islands for him to land. Parts of the coast still under water.
"It is beyond anything I thought I'd ever see," he said. "It is a devastating sight right now."
The death toll from Sandy in the U.S. included several killed by falling trees. Sandy also killed 69 people in the Caribbean before making its way up the Eastern Seaboard.
Airlines cancelled more than 15,000 flights, and New York City's three major airports remain closed.
Some bridges into the city reopened at midday, but most major tunnels and bridges remained closed, as were schools and Broadway theatres.
CBC reporter Melissa Kent said police were out to prevent looting in Lower Manhattan, where everything below 39th Street was still without power. Officials said it could be a week before power is fully restored.Now I see a still newer CBC update, putting the death toll at 48.
