Britons stranded as US counts cost of Sandy storm

Senior News Reporter

Thursday 1 November 2012

AROUND 50,000 Britons remain stranded in the US as the nation begins to get to grips with the devastation caused by superstorm Sandy.

AFTERMATH: President Obama, top, and Governor Christie offer comfort to survivors in New Jersey, as a rollercoaster, left, lies buckled and stranded in the sea, and members of SUNY Maritime Academy use boats to help rescue victims. Main picture: Reuters

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Martin Williams

British Airways were unable to estimate how long it would take to get passengers home with the first flights leaving New York yesterday as the easing winds allowed some airports to re-open. The airline admitted it could take "a couple of days" just to get a clearer idea how many flights they can get in and out of the region.

British nationals forced to leave their belongings in hotels when they fled the storms were being issued with emergency passports to help them get home, a senior UK diplomat in New York said.The scale of travel disruption for Britons was revealed as US President Barack Obama arrived in Atlantic City to take a helicopter tour of a massive area devastated by Sandy, which is estimated to have claimed the lives of at least 55 people on the east coast with New Jersey and New York City worst affected.The President was greeted by Republican New Jersey Governor Chris Christie who has put partisan politics aside in the wake of the disaster, regularly singing Democrat Mr Obama's praises in relation to the federal aid given toward disaster relief support.At a joint news conference, Mr Obama said: "We are here for you and we will not forget. We will follow up to make sure you get all the help you need until you rebuild." He pledged there would be no room for red-tape to stop the rebuilding process.Flights resumed at airports, including two of New York City's three major airports with limited flights at John F Kennedy International and Newark Liberty International. The city's third major airport, LaGuardia, was closed as authorities assessed the damage. The Foreign Office estimated there were 50,000 British tourists stranded and as flights begin to return to normal in the coming days it strongly advised passengers to contact their airline before setting out to airports.It is estimated the storm has been responsible for the grounding of nearly 20,000 flights in the US alone with thousands affected in the rest of the world, including scores from Glasgow, Edinburgh, Manchester and London.Among those waiting to return are a group of 10 students and two teachers from Mackie Academy in Stonehaven, who are stranded in New York and have been told they might have to wait another week before they can get home.BA, which has been picking up the hotel bill for passengers who are affected, say there had been three flights into New York from London and two going the other way. A spokeswoman said: "We are doing everything we can really to help but obviously thanking our customers for being so patient and understanding because it is a very difficult time."We are looking to use larger aircraft where possible, flown out extra staff to Newark and JFK to help and adding more ticket machines in the terminals to help people with their re-booking and checking in."I know it is frustrating, but we really cannot say at the moment how long it will take to get people home, until we know whether we can fly a full schedule. In the next couple of days we will have a much clearer picture of how many flights we can get in and out."Danny Lopez, British consul-general to New York, said staff were doing everything they could to help Britons stuck in the city after the devastation. Staff issued emergency passports to 10 people to help them get back to Britain with a steady flow of people with similar problems expected over the next few days.Meanwhile, New York City's Bellevue Hospital evacuated some 500 patients after back-up generators failed.The New York Stock Exchange opened, albeit running on generator power, while the city's annual marathon may still go ahead on November 4. Adele Ganly, who lives on New York's Roosevelt Island with Scots husband Ian and six-year-old twins Christopher and Olivia, said things were "slowly returning to normal"."Unfortunately the subway system is flooded and that has grounded all underground trains. Overground trains are also cancelled," she said."The bus service returned today. The bridges are open today. The only tunnel into Manhattan that is open is the Lincoln tunnel from New Jersey, all other tunnels are closed. Hospitals are sending out mini-buses to pick up staff."

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Britons stranded as US counts cost of Sandy storm

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