New York - UPI
Hurricane Sandy left 29 dead in the United States, leaving millions without power and anxious to return home, and the storm wasn\'t done yet, forecasters said. Sandy, now a post-tropical cyclone, moved through Pennsylvania Tuesday and was expected to turn toward western New York Tuesday night before moving into Canada Wednesday, the National Weather Service\'s Hydrometeorological Prediction Center said in its 11 a.m. EDT advisory. Authorities blame Sandy for at least 29 deaths in eight states -- 15 in New York; three in New Jersey; three in Pennsylvania; two in Maryland; two in Connecticut; two in Virginia, one in West Virginia, and one on the HMS Bounty, CNN reported. At least one death in Canada has been blamed on the storm. Earlier, 67 people died in the Caribbean, bringing the storm\'s overall death toll to 97. Sandy left in its path darkened skylines, fires, trees tossed about and streets that became canals. Floodwaters gushed into New York\'s subway tunnels and scattered parts of the famed Atlantic City, N.J., boardwalk. Authorities scrambled boats and high-water vehicles to rescue residents trapped in several towns after a berm broke in Moonachie, N.J. New Jersey Gov. Christ Christie called the devastation to the shorelines of Garden State, where Sandy made landfall Monday evening, \"unthinkable\" and asked residents to exercise patience and not return to their homes yet to inspect the damage. \"I know people want to inspect their homes on the barrier islands, but at this point it is unsafe,\" Christie posted on his Twitter page. \"Please be patient.\" New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo echoed the same sentiments: \"If you have been evacuated from #Sandy, return home only when officials say it is safe.\" New York\'s Metropolitan Transit Authority reported on its Twitter page a boat was resting on the tracks at one station. The MTA said it will resume limited bus service Tuesday at 5 p.m., with fares for passengers being waived until further notice. MTA Chairman Joseph J. Lhota said in an interview with WNYC, New York, public radio, the city\'s mass transit system likely would be restored \"in pieces and parts\" in the next few days. \"We\'re going to try to be creative,\" Lhota said. Governors have declared states of emergency. President Barack Obama signed major emergency and disaster declarations for many states overnight, paving the way for federal assistance. He met with disaster officials again Tuesday morning to assess the situation and monitor recovery efforts. In Connecticut, CNN reported some residents trapped in their houses by floodwaters received this text message from the state\'s Emergency Management Office: \"If u find urself surrounded by H2O, call 4 help if u can & then get 2 highest level of home. Hang a white sheet out a street side window.\" The water tanker John B. Caddell ran aground in Staten Island, WABC-TV, New York, reported. An estimated 7.5 million customers were without power in 15 states and the District of Columbia, CNN said, based on numbers it compiled from local power providers. More than 15,000 flights have been canceled since Sunday because of Sandy, flight tracking site FlightAware.com said. Amtrak said on its Facebook page it would assess damage to its tracks and then decide when service would be restored. In West Virginia, where 2-3 feet of snow was forecast, the governor\'s office asked that only essential state employees report for work. The storm, with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph, was about 120 miles east-southeast of Pittsburgh and about 145 miles west of Philadelphia, moving west at 10 mph, forecasters said. Forecasters said numerous weather watches and warnings -- including high-wind warnings, storm warnings, blizzard warnings, winter storm watches and warnings, and flood and coastal flood watches, warnings and advisories -- were posted for much of the eastern United States. New York officials said the Manhattan, Brooklyn, Williamsburg and Ed Koch Queensboro bridges would reopen Tuesday, The New York Times reported. The Tappen Zee Bridge already has reopened. A spokesman for Consolidated Edison said Tuesday much of Manhattan could be without electricity for several days after an explosion at a substation on the East River Monday. New York-Presbyterian Hospital said it was accepting patients evacuated from other area hospitals, and has canceled all elective procedures and surgeries scheduled for Tuesday. \"Our emergency rooms and dialysis centers are fully operational,\" the hospital said in a statement. \"Patients should confirm all scheduled appointments with their physician\'s office.\" A backup power system failed at NYU Langone Medical Center Monday night, forcing the evacuation of all patients, The New York Times said. Medical center officials said the hospital began transporting 215 patients to other facilities Monday evening and was still transporting some early Tuesday. CNN reported 3 feet of water flowed onto the floor of the New York Stock Exchange building, a first. The stock exchange, which has been closed for two days due to the storm, said Tuesday it will reopen Wednesday. At least 50 homes burned to the ground in one neighborhood of Queens, fire officials said, though the cause of the blaze was not immediately released. New York\'s Metropolitan Transit Authority said seven subway tunnels were flooded, the Metro-North Railroad lost power along some lines, the Long Island Rail Road evacuated its West Side Yards and sustained flooding in one tunnel, the Hugh L. Carey (Brooklyn Battery) Tunnel was flooded, and the Queens Midtown Tunnel took on water and was closed. Six bus garages were disabled by high water. Some smaller cities north of New York were spared the brunt of the storm but still experienced severe flooding. Kingston, N.Y., was forced to shut down a sewage treatment plant after a Hudson River tributary overflowed its banks early Tuesday and breached 7-foot-high berms around the plant, causing a transformer to blow out, city officials said. Officials evacuated residents from waterfront apartments and condominiums. The city is at the confluence of the Hudson River and Rondout Creek tributary. The storm could cause $10-20 billion in total economic damages and $5-10 billion in insured losses, catastrophe-risk modeling firm EQECAT said.