New York struggled to get back on its feet Tuesday after superstorm Sandy carved a path of destruction from the Caribbean to Canada that left at least 110 people dead and millions without power.
The cyclone drove hurricane-force winds and deadly ocean surges against a large swathe of the US East Coast, adding an uncertain twist to an already tight US presidential race.
President Barack Obama declared Sandy a “major disaster” in the states of New York and New Jersey, where he was due to tour flooded areas on Wednesday with governor Chris Christie, a backer of his Republican rival Mitt Romney.
Romney cancelled a second day of campaign events Tuesday to focus on rescue and recovery work, just one week before American voters go to the polls.
The death toll from accidents related to the storm rose to 43 confirmed in North America since Sandy made landfall on Monday and 67 killed beforehand as the then hurricane tore through the Caribbean. Meanwhile, authorities and citizens in America’s biggest city struggled to restore vital services and clear debris after a wall of storm-driven seawater swamped road and rail tunnels and triggered massive fires. “Restoring power and mass transit remain the two biggest challenges in the days ahead,” New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg told reporters, as rescue crews and utility workers surveyed an apocalyptic scene.
In the ocean-front Queens neighborhood of Breezy Point, more than 80 houses burned after flooding caused a fire, while lower Manhattan — New York’s iconic high-rise financial center — was blacked out by a massive power cut.
Bloomberg struck an upbeat stance: “We have a plan for recovery and that recovery is already beginning, I’m happy to say. This is the end of the downside, and hopefully from here it is going up.”
Before things could improve, however, the New York subway system, much of which was flooded by seawater, will need to recover from what management dubbed its worst disaster in its 108-year history.
Obama, who faces a tough re-election battle on November 6, sent his support.
“The most important message I have for them is that 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,” he said.
The president said he would tour New Jersey on Wednesday after Christie, the state’s Republican governor, reported “unthinkable” devastation in submerged coastal communities.
