Hurricane Sandy Aftermath: Updates State-by-State

Oct. 30, 2012— -- intro: Though the worst now appears to be over, much of the already inundated Eastern seaboard continues to feel the effects of Hurricane Sandy.

Many in cities and states that stood in Sandy's path woke up Tuesday morning with a big mess on their hands. Flooding was felt in every state along the coast from North Carolina to Massachusetts, power outages continue to be widespread, many homes and business were damaged by gale force winds, and thousands of commercial flights remain grounded and transit systems stalled.

Eight million were without power as of Tuesday, many of them without hope of getting it back anytime soon. Reports of damage to property and transportation infrastructure continue to mount. At least 39 deaths have now been attributed to Sandy. It is clear that the winds and waters of the superstorm were only the beginning of what will be a long, difficult road to full recovery.

Read on to learn more about Sandy's lasting effects as the states and cities of the east coast begin adding up the damage.

quicklist: 1title: Connecticuttext: The Nutmeg State, with its densely populated coast along the hard-hit Long Island Sound, experienced widespread power loss as well as severe flooding in areas. Gov. Dannel Malloy issued a statement Monday night that urged those residents who were not among the hundreds of thousands already evacuated to move to higher ground and described his own warning as "Katrina like."

Connecticut was not hit nearly as hard as New York or New Jersey. However, as of Tuesday evening, schools across the state reported that closures and delays will remain in effect Wednesday. The state's two major electricity providers, Connecticut Light & Power and the United Illuminating Company, reported a total of nearly 600,000 customers affected by outages as of 5 p.m. Tuesday. Reports of property damage in waterfront areas sprung up throughout the day and at least three deaths in Connecticut are now being attributed to the storm.

United Illuminating Co. customers can click here for outage information, while Connecticut Light & Power can click here.

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quicklist: 2title: Delawaretext: Most coastal and low-lying areas in the tiny state of Delaware have been affected by the storm, and Gov. Jack Marshall issued a mandatory evacuation on Monday that lasted into Tuesday. On Tuesday evening, the mandatory evacuations in Kent County and New Castle County were lifted, while the order for areas in the heavily flooded Sussex County remained in effect as officials feared Tuesday night's high tide could bring renewed danger.

Click here for more Delaware evacuation and road closure information.

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quicklist: 3title: Marylandtext: The especially hard hit resort town of Ocean City, Md., where a mandatory evacuation was put in place over the weekend, lost its main fishing pier, even as Sandy remained hundreds of miles away. Over 200,000 Marylanders had no power as of 6 p.m. Tuesday. The Maryland Transit Administration planned to resume service Wednesday with many commuter rails running with limited service.

Click here for more information on Maryland power outages.

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quicklist: 4title: New Jerseytext: Hurricane Sandy first made landfall in the Garden State and, consequently, the state was the hardest hit. With the backdrop of statewide damages, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie spent Tuesday speaking to reporters about Sandy's aftermath, Obama's help at the federal level, and about ongoing cleanup efforts.

Atlantic City was inundated by flood waters well before Sandy hit land and in the light of day Tuesday it became clear the resort town had endured heavy damage. Notably, the city's historic boardwalk was partially washed away.

The barrier island town of Ocean City, N.J., also took a huge hit from Sandy. Some streets were still inundated with water Tuesday evening, while others were rendered inpassable by debris.

Over 2 million customers had no power Tuesday evening and many remained unsure when service would be restored. Some towns, like Jersey City, remained almost totally dark.

In addition to record-breaking outages, the state's transportation infrastructure is experiencing unprecedented challenges. The PATH train and the Holland Tunnel, which connect New Jersey with New York City, remained closed Tuesday evening, as did New Jersey Transit rail, bus and light rail. Road travel also continued to be a problem Tuesday evening as crews cleared roadways and officials urged residents to drive only when necessary.The New Jersey Turnpike remained closed north of interchange 14 in Newark.

Click here for more in-depth information on transportation closures and delays.

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quicklist: 5title: New Yorktext: Much of Sandy's havoc in New York was centered in New York City, where flood waters seeped into low-lying areas in all the city's boroughs and left 750,000 customers without power, out of 2 million without power statewide. Lower Manhattan was particularly affected and power was lost in and around the city's financial district, where trading was suspended on the New York Stock Exchange floor Monday and Tuesday. It will resume Wednesday. Some worried that power outages could continue for days.

The New York City subway, the country's most extensive with more than 600 miles of track, was shut down Sunday evening and remained closed Tuesday. Many tunnels took on corrosive sea water as Sandy struck the city and must now be cleared of water even before repairs can begin. Officials called the situation unprecedented and many were reluctant to predict when service might resume.

"The New York City subway system is 108 years old," said MTA Chairman Joe Lhota on Tuesday, "but it has never faced a disaster as devastating as what we experienced last night."

Click here for updated New York City evacuation and power outage information.

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quicklist: 6title: North Carolinatext: Though the storm never landed at North Carolina's barrier islands, known as the Outer Banks, Sandy did damage many homes and threaten many more with encroaching sea waters. The main artery to and from the mainland, N.C. Highway 12, was also severely damaged, cutting the resort villages off from the rest of the state.

Off the coast of the islands, the 180-foot sailing ship HMS Bounty sunk while attempting to avoid the worst of Sandy. Fourteen were rescued from the ship, one woman later died, and the ship's captain was still missing as of Tuesday evening.

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quicklist: 7title: Pennsylvaniatext: Pennsylvania is the only state on this list without an Atlantic coastline, but that doesn't mean Sandy didn't punish the Keystone State. Situated along the border of New Jersey, which weathered the brunt of Sandy's landfall, Philadelphia woke up reeling Tuesday. Nearly 1.3 million households were out of power, many of them in the state's largest city.

SEPTA, the region's transit authority, plans to resume regional rail service Wednesday. Most bus service was already restored Tuesday evening. Limited service has resumed at the Philadelphia International Airport.

Click here for a more detailed look at Philadelphia power outages.

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quicklist: 8title: Rhode Island text: Though Rhode Island was never at Sandy's epicenter, the beach town of Westerly on the Connecticut border reported a peak wind speed for the state of 86 mph on Monday evening. Several coastal towns saw voluntary evacuations as Sandy approached.

The main hurricane wall in Providence fully withstood Sandy's storm surge and was reopened Tuesday. However, even as waters and winds receded, over 90,000 customers endured power outages as of Tuesday evening.

Click here for more information on Rhode Island power outages.

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