38 die as Sandy wreaks chaos across 16 states

Senior News Reporter

Wednesday 31 October 2012

AT least 38 people have been reported dead as Barack Obama warned the catastrophic storm that caused devastation across eastern USA was not over.

DEVASTATION: Super-storm Sandy brought death and destruction to huge swathes of North America, with homes destroyed, cars wrecked, flooding, power cuts and trees uprooted.

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Martin Williams

Classed as a post-tropical cyclone, Sandy, which has caused extensive flooding and cut power to millions was expected to turn north and track back into New York state last night before heading into Canada today, the National Hurricane Centre said.

The initial hurricane had killed 69 people across the Caribbean before hitting the US, meaning the total death toll from the storm had reached at least 107.President Obama, who earlier declared the destruction caused by Sandy a major disaster warned: "This storm is not over yet". He said there are still risks of flooding and downed power lines and called the storm "heartbreaking for the nation". His presidential rival, Mitt Romney, called for help for those affected.Ten of the reported fatalities occurred in New York City – attributed to falling trees, electrocution and drowning – but that number was expected to rise.In New Jersey, three people were killed, including a couple crushed by a falling tree when they got out of their car. Their children, aged 11 and 14 who remained inside, survived.A woman in West Virginia died when her car collided with a cement lorry, in heavy snow caused by the storm.More than eight million homes and businesses in several states had lost power and authorities said New York City could be without power for a week.It is estimated up to 60 million people in the US could be affected in some way by the storm, which has been responsible for the grounding of 15,000 flights across the world, including scores from Glasgow, Edinburgh, Manchester and London.Adele Ganly, who lives on New York's Roosevelt Island with Scots husband Ian and six-year-old twins Christopher and Olivia, said: "We were very lucky, others not so lucky. Lots of house fires in Queens, trees falling on houses in suburban areas and hundreds of thousands without power. We still have power. Hallelluia for underground cables."The hospital where Mr Ganly is a surgeon cancelled all non-emergency operations because there was not enough staff.A group of 10 students and two teachers from Stonehaven's Mackie Academy, who are stranded in New York, have been told they may have to wait another week before they can fly home.In New York, the transit system, schools, the stock exchange and Broadway were all out of action after a huge tidal surge sent seawater cascading into subway and road tunnels. Manhattan's Battery Park recorded a 14ft tide, smashing a record set by 1960's Hurricane Donna by several feet. While the city's financial heart was closed for a second day, Wall Street was expected to open for business today. The last time it was closed for two days because of weather was in 1888.The American Red Cross said they have housed 11,000 people in 258 shelters across 16 states.The unprecedented flooding hampered efforts to fight a massive fire that destroyed more than 50 homes in Breezy Point in the New York borough of Queens.Around 200 patients had to be moved after the failure of a backup generator forced the evacuation of the Langone Medical Center, part of New York University hospital.Nurses carried sick newborn babies down nine flights of stairs, manually pumping air into the lungs of those on respirators.The storm slowed or shut six nuclear power plants, while the USA's oldest facility – Exelon Corp's 43-year-old Oyster Creek plant – declared an alert after flood waters became high enough to endanger a key cooling system.The National Guard said it had rescued hundreds from flooding in New Jersey. State governor, Chris Christie, a Republican, said the damage was "unthinkable" and praised the "outstanding" co-operation he had received from Mr Obama, who is due in New Jersey today.Rescuers were continuing to search for Robin Walbridge, 63, captain of HMS Bounty – which featured in the 1962 film Mutiny on the Bounty – after it sank in the storm. Claudene Christian, a descendant of the original Bounty mutineer Fletcher Christian was drowned.

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38 die as Sandy wreaks chaos across 16 states

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