Tuesday will be remembered by millions of people as the darkest day of their lives as they woke up to a day without electricity after Hurricane Sandy slammed into the eastern United States, flooding the New York's subway system, submerging Manhattan streets and cutting off power. The death toll has climbed to 35 according reports.
The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) had earlier said that the storm could bring a "life-threatening storm surge", and forecasters warned of more disaster, forcing state authorities to order mandatory evacuation in coastal and low-lying areas.
At least 35 people were feared death, many of them falling victim to toppling trees. 17 people were killed in New York State, 10 in New York City, five in Pennsylvania and three in New Jersey, reported Foxnews.
[DEVASTATING PICTURES OF HURRICANE SANDY]
Hurricane Sandy killed 69 people in the Caribbean last week.
A massive fire destroyed more than 100 houses in Queens, with floods hampering the recue operation by the daring firefighters. A collapsed crane still dangle precariously on the 74th floors above the midtown Manhattan streets.
It is reported that around 200 patients from NYU Langone Hospital were evacuated to other hospitals after the backup generator failed.
President Barack Obama and Republican presidential rival Mitt Romney have put their campaign on hold for the second consecutive day ahead of the elections on November 6. The financial market too has been closed since Monday due to the storm.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chairman Joseph J. Lhota said in a statement that Hurricane Sandy was the worst disaster to have happened to the 108-year-old New York City subway system.
" As of last night, seven subway tunnels under the East River flooded. Metro-North Railroad lost power from 59th Street to Croton-Harmon on the Hudson Line and to New Haven on the New Haven Line. The Long Island Rail Road evacuated its West Side Yards and suffered flooding in one East River tunnel. The Hugh L. Carey Tunnel is flooded from end to end and the Queens Midtown Tunnel also took on water and was closed. Six bus garages were disabled by high water," said Lhota in a statement.
