http://www.businessinsider.com/a-noreaster-winter-storm-east-coast-election-day-2012-11
( Sandy has given Obama a bounce , will the next storm finish off Romney ? )
A nor'easter could hit Mid-Atlantic and New England States by Tuesday (Election Day) into next Thursday, the National Weather Service's prediction center warns.
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/11/were-going-to-die-staten-island-residents-plead-for-help-3-days-after-sandy/
http://www.businessinsider.com/new-jersey-is-running-out-of-gasoline-and-police-are-posted-at-both-open-and-closed-stations-2012-11
and......
http://colorlines.com/archives/2012/11/without_electricity_new_yorkers_on_food_stamps_cant_pay_for_food.html
A man shops for groceries by flashlight at an East Village grocery store in New York on October 30, 2012 as New Yorkers cope with the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. (TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images)
and humans move down the food chain in NYC- on par with rats and roachs in lower NYC.........
http://www.nbcnewyork.com/video/#!/on-air/as-seen-on/Sandy-Starved-New-Yorkers-Dumpster-Dive/176839571
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2012-11-01/dumpster-diving-lower-east-side
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 11/01/2012 16:50 -0400
Woman salvages milk, ice cream, juice and other food from a Nolita Dumpster.
http://news.yahoo.com/york-governor-ask-federal-government-cover-sandy-storm-200420294.html;_ylt=A2KJ3CaGXJJQjHEAdIbQtDMD
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-30/new-york-subway-system-may-take-weeks-to-recover-from-flooding.html
and....
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/yorkers-fuel-scramble-storm-hit-pumps-dry-223002793.html
http://enenews.com/nj-officials-gas-main-believed-to-have-exploded-flames-shooting-out-of-sand-huge-fire-15-miles-from-nuclear-plant-crews-unable-to-access-area-video
http://www.weather.com/news/weather-hurricanes/sandy-top-five-20121028
( Old links on Sandy below..... )
http://fredw-catharsisours.blogspot.com/2012/10/effects-from-sandy-just-getting-started.html
http://fredw-catharsisours.blogspot.com/2012/10/hurricane-sandy-update-sunday-october.html
Nice summary of the top five big items related to Sandy.....
http://www.weather.com/news/weather-hurricanes/sandy-top-five-20121028
( Sandy has given Obama a bounce , will the next storm finish off Romney ? )
A Nor'easter Winter Storm Could Hit The East Coast By Election Day
Weather.com
The storm is weaker than Hurricane Sandy and is expected to have far less impacts than Monday's megastorm.
"It should be noted that this system is expected to be much weaker than Hurricane Sandy and produce impacts much less extreme and mainly away from the region most strongly impacted by Sandy," the center writes.
At this time it looks as though coastal impacts would be farther north along the New England coast than we saw with Sandy. Snowfall would be confined to northern New England. Also, this system will not be anywhere as impactful as Sandy. That being said, it is much too early to discuss details and we will need to keep a close eye on future forecasts to fine tune the evolution of this system.
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/11/were-going-to-die-staten-island-residents-plead-for-help-3-days-after-sandy/
‘We Need Food, We Need Clothing’:
Staten Island Residents Plead for
Help 3 Days After Sandy
Email
(John Moore/Getty Images)
The residents of Staten Island are pleading for help from elected officials, begging for gasoline, food and clothing three days after Sandy slammed the New York City borough.
“We’re going to die! We’re going to freeze! We got 90-year-old people!” Donna Solli told visiting officials. “You don’t understand. You gotta get your trucks down here on the corner now. It’s been three days!”
Staten Island was one of the hardest-hit communities in New York City. More than 80,000 residents are still without power. Many are homeless, and at least 19 people died on Staten Island because of the storm.
One of the devastated neighborhoods was overwhelmed by a violent surge of water. Residents described a super-sized wave as high as 20 feet, with water rushing into the streets like rapids.
Staten Island resident Mike Abuzzio’s home is completely gone, with only his floor boards remaining. He, his wife and their two young daughters have been staying with relatives.
“My youngest daughter yesterday said, ‘Daddy, I want to go,’” Abuzzio told ABC News. “I told her, ‘It’s going to be awhile, hon.’ She doesn’t understand. She’s 6.”
In the rubble that was once his home, Abuzzio found one clean, intact plate of Christmas china. He said that plate will be special at Christmastime and will be used specifically for his mother’s cookies.
For 48 hours after the storm, search teams were hunting for two Staten Island brothers, just 2- and 4-years-old. They were swept out of their mother’s arms when waves caused by storm surges crashed into the family’s SUV. Their small bodies were found today at the end of a dead-end street. Their parents were at the scene where the bodies were discovered.
Staten Island officials sounded increasingly desperate today, asking when supplies will arrive. They blasted the Red Cross for not being there when it counted.
“This is America, not a third world nation. We need food, we need clothing,” Staten Island Borough President Jim Molinaro said today. “My advice to the people of Staten Island is: Don’t donate the American Red Cross. Put their money elsewhere.”
The Red Cross and the National Guard arrived in the area late Tuesday and are distributing food, water and gas – and city officials say things are much better.
Molinaro urged New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg Wednesday to cancel Sunday’s New York City Marathon. The race’s staging area is on Staten Island and Molinaro said it would be “crazy, asinine,” to have the race after what has happened.
“My God. What we have here is terrible, a disaster,” Molinaro said Wednesday. “If they want to race, let them race with themselves. This is no time for a parade. A marathon is a parade. Now is the time to put your shoulder to the wheel. If they want to prepare for something, let them prepare for the election, not a marathon.”
“Do you realize how many police officers you need for a marathon?” he asked. “There are people looting stores on Midland Avenue. There is looting taking place in the homes on the South Shore that were destroyed. That is where we need the police.”
and.......
http://www.businessinsider.com/new-jersey-is-running-out-of-gasoline-and-police-are-posted-at-both-open-and-closed-stations-2012-11
New Jersey Is Running Out Of Gasoline And Police Are On Hand
Once free of the confines of storm stricken Manhattan, it doesn't take long to realize that traveling through New Jersey presents its own daunting set of problems.
The first line of cars stretched along the highway for miles raises more questions than concerns, until it becomes clear that the three mile string of vehicles are all waiting for gasoline to continue on their way.
Eighty percent of New Jersey stations don't even have gas, while police guard closed stations and open stations alike. At one set of pumps we saw a driver who pulled in from from desperation, cutting in front of the line. Drivers near the pumps piled from their cars threatening violence and when we left, the newcomer still sat in his car, windows rolled up, head on his hand — waiting.
Some stations were expecting fuel deliveries today, others had capped purchases hoping not to run out.
Reserve tanks in the area were drained before Sandy to avoid an environmental disaster. The Arthur Kill waterway is closed for major oil spill cleanup, which means no deliveries will be coming from the port in Bayonne. Many terminals themselves are without power and the extent of damage is yet unknown.
Residents told us over-and-over today, generally with a shake of the head and a look into the distance: "This is like nothing I've ever seen."
 |
and......
http://colorlines.com/archives/2012/11/without_electricity_new_yorkers_on_food_stamps_cant_pay_for_food.html
Without Electricity, New Yorkers on Food Stamps Can’t Pay for Food
It’s been more than three days since power went out in many parts of New York City, including the Lower East Side where multi-story public housing complexes like the La Guardia Houses don’t have electricity, heat or water.
Many of the residents are also without food.
Many of the low-income residents receive cash and supplemental nutritional assistance from the state electronically through what the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance calls Electronic Benefit Cards (EBT.)
Recipients buying eligible foods are suppose to swipe their EBT cards like any other credit card for their purchases but since Hurricane Sandy hit, most Lower East Side stores don’t have electricity to run credit card transactions and are only accepting cash. Leaving many people on EBT with empty wallets, empty refrigerators and no access to food.
“The supermarkets don’t even really want to sell anything. They’re open but if you don’t have cash, you messed up. And everybody in these projects, they take EBT…food stamps,” a La Guardia Houses resident told WNYC’s Marianne McCune.
and humans move down the food chain in NYC- on par with rats and roachs in lower NYC.........
http://www.nbcnewyork.com/video/#!/on-air/as-seen-on/Sandy-Starved-New-Yorkers-Dumpster-Dive/176839571
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2012-11-01/dumpster-diving-lower-east-side
Dumpster Diving In The Lower East Side
When one thinks of dumpster diving in the "developed world", one usually starts withGreece, and ends with Spain (where this activity has been so pervasive, lately even the dumpsters have been on lock down). Certainly, Manhattan's Lower East Side is not one of the places that immediately comes to mind. Sadly, now that the city's more Bohmeian neighborhood has been without power and food for 3 days running, and the prospect of electricity being restored is still dim, the local residents have no choice but to do what their insolvent peers from across the Atlantic do every day (even as the capital markets fool themselves that all is well because Draghi said so).
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/dumpster-divers-grab-40-000-worth-food-article-1.1195338
Dumpster divers swoop in to grab $40,000 worth of pricy fresh food
Met Food supermarket workers at the corner of Prince St. and Mulberry St., had to toss scores of garbage bags packed with foodie eats like Pom pomegranate juice, soy chai latte, organic eggs, and Ben and Jerry's ice cream, clearing the shelves in the wake of Sandy's aftermath.
Comments (20)BY SIMONE WEICHSELBAUM / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2012, 3:39 AM
Residents took advantage of expensive food getting tossed in Dumpster.
It's getting that bad in still blacked-out downtown Manhattan?
Dozens of city residents frustrated with day two of a dark Gotham swarmed a Nolita garbage bin filled with $40,000 of pricy fresh food.
Met Food supermarket workers at the corner of Prince St. and Mulberry St., had to toss scores of garbage bags packed with foodie eats like Pom pomegranate juice, soy chai latte, organic eggs, and Ben and Jerry's ice cream, clearing the shelves in the wake of Sandy's aftermath.
Shop owner Paul Fernandez said his store - like most of Manhattan south of 40th St. - has been without power since the storm hit Monday forcing him to trash the entire deli section along with all his meats and dairy products.
"I had to throw out all of my perishables. I can't sell it to anybody. It's like $40,000 worth of food. We carry a lot of speciality item and organically," Fernandez said watching hordes of people packing shopping carts and backpacks with his groceries.
"I didn't expect this kind of a turnout. They are taking advantage."
Dozens of city residents frustrated with day two of a dark Gotham swarmed a Nolita garbage bin filled with $40,000 of pricy fresh food.
Met Food supermarket workers at the corner of Prince St. and Mulberry St., had to toss scores of garbage bags packed with foodie eats like Pom pomegranate juice, soy chai latte, organic eggs, and Ben and Jerry's ice cream, clearing the shelves in the wake of Sandy's aftermath.
Shop owner Paul Fernandez said his store - like most of Manhattan south of 40th St. - has been without power since the storm hit Monday forcing him to trash the entire deli section along with all his meats and dairy products.
"I had to throw out all of my perishables. I can't sell it to anybody. It's like $40,000 worth of food. We carry a lot of speciality item and organically," Fernandez said watching hordes of people packing shopping carts and backpacks with his groceries.
"I didn't expect this kind of a turnout. They are taking advantage."
Woman salvages milk, ice cream, juice and other food from a Nolita Dumpster.
NYU student Ilana Breen, 20, said she'd been wandering the streets all day looking for a working ATM or an open store in order to buy food. Her apartment on E. 23rd St. is without power with rotting grub in the fridge.
"We just saw all these people in the Dumpster. This isn't a trash can. This is a heap of food," Breen said showing off a $7.49 bottle of organic vanilla chai she found. "We don't have any power. I have this book bag and we are going to come back with a suitcase."
The Pena family from nearby Grand St. in the Lower East Side got a tip from a friend about the food-find and walked to Nolita with a small shopping cart.
Their son Brian Pena, 20, spent over an hour in the Dumpster tearing open trash bags tossing groceries to his dad and people too embarrassed to ask for the nosh.
"I am just helping the people," Pena said tossing boxes of frozen veggies. "No one wanted to come inside so I am pulling open the bags and giving food."
Down the block, Paradise Deli and Grocery was open using a dozen candles to the light the dark store. Owner Aziz Benani watched as he lost his customers to the free pile of food.
"Yesterday, the Korean around the corner was the only store open and he was busy. "
"We just saw all these people in the Dumpster. This isn't a trash can. This is a heap of food," Breen said showing off a $7.49 bottle of organic vanilla chai she found. "We don't have any power. I have this book bag and we are going to come back with a suitcase."
The Pena family from nearby Grand St. in the Lower East Side got a tip from a friend about the food-find and walked to Nolita with a small shopping cart.
Their son Brian Pena, 20, spent over an hour in the Dumpster tearing open trash bags tossing groceries to his dad and people too embarrassed to ask for the nosh.
"I am just helping the people," Pena said tossing boxes of frozen veggies. "No one wanted to come inside so I am pulling open the bags and giving food."
Down the block, Paradise Deli and Grocery was open using a dozen candles to the light the dark store. Owner Aziz Benani watched as he lost his customers to the free pile of food.
"Yesterday, the Korean around the corner was the only store open and he was busy. "
"Now we just opened. And it's slow," Benani said.
and.....
http://news.yahoo.com/york-governor-ask-federal-government-cover-sandy-storm-200420294.html;_ylt=A2KJ3CaGXJJQjHEAdIbQtDMD
New York state asks Washington to cover all storm costs
By Edith Honan and Susan Cornwell | Reuters – 13 hrs ago
NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New York state on Wednesday asked the U.S. federal government to pay all the costs of cleaning up and repairing damage from massive storm Sandy that tore through the Northeast this week and crippled New York City.
Governor Andrew Cuomo said he is asking fellow Democrat, President Barack Obama, to pay 100 percent of the estimated $6 billion bill, at a time that state and local government budgets remain constrained by a weak economic recovery.
That would be a significant change from last year when the federal government covered about 75 percent of the $1.2 billion cost paid by New York to clean up after storm Irene hit the region.
The two U.S. senators from neighboring New Jersey, the other state hit hardest by the storm, also asked that the federal government cover more than the usual share of the cost, given the size of the disaster and the financially strapped local coffers.
"Recent storms in New Jersey have already placed a significant burden on our state and local governments, which have been forced to pay for disaster response and will need federal assistance for recovery from Hurricane Sandy," Senator Frank Lautenberg and Senator Robert Menendez, both Democrats, wrote in a letter to Obama.
"While we understand the federal share is typically 75 percent of these total costs, the unprecedented and extraordinary extent of damage Hurricane Sandy has caused to our state merits an adjustment to this cost-share to 90 to 100 percent federal coverage," the two senators said.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a Republican, did not reply to request of comments.
Obama and Christie toured storm-stricken parts of New Jersey on Wednesday, taking in scenes of flooded roads from the air and telling residents they were moving quickly to get them help.
'WE CAN'T PRINT MONEY'
New York top finance official, Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, said Washington should foot the bill, because of lingering financial pressures on state and local governments from the 2007-09 recession.
"I think the focus will have to be on Washington, for obvious reasons," DiNapoli told Reuters in an interview.
"They have greater resources. They can print money; we can't do that here. And given the fact this is not just a New York disaster, it's really a national disaster, it's probably for the federal government to step up and play a significant role."
"The problem is the state is limited in its resource capacity. We just put out the mid-year report a week or two ago and it really showed tax revenues are down," DiNapoli said.
Most U.S. states must balance their budgets, unlike the federal government, and it is up to Obama to decide if federal funds can cover all the costs.
"The president has the discretion to go higher. Seventy-five percent is a floor not a ceiling," said Matt Mayer, a former senior official at the Department of Homeland Security.
If Obama accepts covering all the costs, this would be announced by Federal Emergency management Agency, Mayer said.
Former President George W. Bush allowed 100 percent reimbursement of costs in some states after Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005, Mayer, who worked at DHS during Bush's presidency, told Reuters.
Cuomo said in a letter to Obama that "initial estimates project up to $6 billion in lost economic revenue in the greater metropolitan area and the state" due to disruption to business in the world's financial hub.
Cuomo added that "the significant impact from Hurricane Sandy plainly warrants providing this assistance."
The state, he said, was still battling multi-building fires, tunnel closures, and power outages at hospitals and other vital facilities. Plus there are destroyed homes and people needing shelter.
"Moreover, the cost to restore the complex electrically driven subway and rail transportation systems after total inundation from saltwater flooding will place a tremendous financial burden on New York state," Cuomo said in the letter.
In New York alone nearly 2 million homes and businesses are still without power.
Cuomo said federal support is key to making sure state and local governments can respond effectively to the disaster.
New York state is rated AA by Standard and Poor's and Aa2 by Moody's and its outstanding debt is the second highest among states, after California.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-30/new-york-subway-system-may-take-weeks-to-recover-from-flooding.html
If you laid the New York City subway system in a line, it would stretch from New York to Detroit. Now imagine inspecting every inch of that track.
That’s the job ahead for Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials, who must examine 600 miles of track and the electrical systems with it before they can fully reopen the largest U.S. transit system, which took a direct hit by Hurricane Sandy.
Seven subway tunnels under New York’s East River flooded, MTA officials said. Pumping them out could take days, and a 2011 state study said it could take three weeks after hurricane- driven flooding to get back to 90 percent of normal operations. That study forecast damages of $50 billion to $55 billion to transportation infrastructure including the subways.
“No subway system is designed for a flood of this magnitude,” said Nasri Munfah, chairman of tunnel services at HNTB Corp., a Kansas City, Missouri-based infrastructure construction, design and consulting firm. “I don’t think it’s going to be a matter of a day or two. It’s a big job.”
Fourteen of 23 MTA subway lines will resume limited service tomorrow, though none will run between Manhattan’s 34th Street and Brooklyn, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said at a news conference today. Some Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad trains were to be back by 2 p.m. today.
Metro-North’s Lower Harlem Line, connecting Grand Central Terminal to White Plains, will run trains once per hour, Cuomo said. Subway tunnels for the R, A, C, L, and 7 trains are still flooded, he said.
Amtrak Service
Amtrak is offering limited service north and south of New York as crews work to restore access to the city through tunnels that flooded during the storm. The nation’s long-distance passenger rail carrier resumed service to Newark Liberty International Airport today.
Two Amtrak tunnels into New York City from the south are being pumped out today, according to Steve Kulm, an Amtrak spokesman. To the north, two of four Amtrak tunnels flooded. Electrical and signaling systems in the other two, used primarily by the Long Island Railroad, are being checked for safety, said Kulm, who declined to estimate when the tunnels would be usable.
“It’s a day-to-day thing,” he said.
Amtrak has suspended its premier Acela Express service for the length of the Northeast Corridor.
Worst Ever
Chairman Joe Lhota of the MTA, which carries an average of 8.7 million riders on weekdays, called the storm the worst disaster in the subway’s 108-year history. Sandy, which made landfall in New Jersey and swept north to New York City, was the largest tropical storm measured in the Atlantic.
New Jersey Transit’s rail operations center was engulfed in water, damaging the computer system that controls the movement of trains and power supply, the agency said in a statement yesterday.
A subway system has an electrical system that runs equipment, pumps, lights and communications, one that runs switches and signals and a third that powers the electrified third rail for train propulsion, Munfah said. All can be ruined by salt.
Saltwater Damage
“It’s like dropping your computer into a bucket of salt water,” he said.
MTA officials yesterday said the extent of electrical damage can’t be assessed until the water is drained.
Thousands of connections in signal systems will need to be cleaned and tested before trains can run again, said Mortimer Downey, a former MTA executive director and current board member of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.
“It’s an enormous amount of wiring and an enormous amount of connections that go to what’s called relay rooms,” Downey said. “They’ve got to turn the system on, and if it seems to be working I think they’ve got to go to every component and check it and get rid of all the salt. What you don’t want is a short circuit that causes the system to fail.”
Such a failure caused the deadliest crash in the history of Washington’s Metro system in 2009, he said.
Spare Parts
Finding enough replacement parts will be another challenge that could delay repairs, said Kathy Waters, vice president for member services at the American Public Transportation Association.
“The New York system, although there are some components that have been upgraded over the years, has a lot of antique components where the vendor has been out of business for 50 years,” Waters said in an interview.
“To some extent, they will have inventory,” she said. “But depending on the extent of damage, you don’t keep things on the shelf to have a replacement for every piece should it all go down at once.”
A 2011 study funded by New York state concluded it would take 21 days to restore the subway system to 90 percent of its full operations after flooding caused by a severe hurricane.
It estimated it would take a week to pump water out of tunnels, assuming officials could get 100 portable pumps. The subway had only three mobile train pumps for the entire system, the report said.
Billion Gallons
The study, which assumed damage levels from a once-in-100- years storm, estimated 1 billion gallons of water would have to be pumped out of the subway system.
“The essence of that report unfortunately came true,” Klaus Jacob, the Columbia University scientist who co-wrote the study, said in an interview.
Subways’ pump rooms are designed to handle runoff from typical storms, not floods, Munfah said. The pumps run on electricity, with diesel generators as a limited backup. The 14- foot storm surge was much higher than any planned flood level, so the systems couldn’t do much to keep up.
The city decided before the storm hit to end train and bus service, moving equipment to safety and encouraging customers to stay home.
Moving trains out of the tunnels and turning off power to the electrified third rails prevented the damage from being worse, Munfah said.
“We took every precaution we possibly could,” said Deirdre Parker, a spokeswoman for the MTA, citing the use of sandbags at subway entrances and the agency covering vents. “It was just a record-setting storm surge. There was really nothing else we could have done.”
Shrink Wrapping
New York has handled the storm preparations and aftermath as well as it could, said Joseph Schofer, a professor of civil and environmental engineering and the director of Infrastructure Technology Institute at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.
“As best I can tell from what they’ve done in the past, they protected a lot of the vulnerable infrastructure,” said Schofer, who directed a case study last year of how the MTA responded to Hurricane Irene in 2011. “They shrink-wrapped fare machines, and they also pulled equipment out of low-lying areas, particularly the tunnels. Electrical equipment is particularly vulnerable.”
An inundation like this could have been predicted given the depth of New York’s subway tunnels compared with cities with more modern underground tunnels, Downey said in an interview.
Lines under the river are low points in the system, leading water to collect there, he said.
“Our transit system wasn’t designed for this kind of surge of water pouring into lower Manhattan,” former New York Lieutenant Governor Richard Ravitch, who’s a co-chairman of the State Budget Crisis Task Force, said yesterday in an interview on Bloomberg Television. “Nobody ever dreamed of this. It’s not something that can be easily changed, either.”
and....
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/yorkers-fuel-scramble-storm-hit-pumps-dry-223002793.html
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Drivers and homeowners scrambled to secure fuel for their cars and generators in the U.S. Northeast on Wednesday as storm-hit gasoline stations started to run dry.
More than half of all gasoline service stations in the New York City area and New Jersey were shut because of depleted fuel supplies and power outages, frustrating attempts to restore normal life, industry officials said.
Reports of long lines, dark stations and empty tanks circulated across the region. Some station owners were unable to pump fuel due to a lack of power, while others quickly ran their tanks dry because of increased demand and logistical problems in delivering fresh supplies.
The lack of working gasoline stations is likely to compound travel problems in the region, with the New York City subway system down until at least Thursday and overland rail and bus services severely disrupted.
Homeowners and businesses relying on back-up generators during the power cuts, including many Wall Street banks in lower Manhattan, may also run short of fuel.
"I don't have any lights and need this gasoline for my generator," said Abdul Rahim Anwar at a Getty service station in Gowanus, Brooklyn, as he put two full jerry cans into his trunk.
Tempers flared as a queue of at least 30 cars spilled down the street, with drivers blaring horns, shouting and getting out of their cars. Pump attendant Nadim Amid said the station had already run out of regular gasoline and only had a tiny amount of super unleaded and diesel left.
One driver, a doctor who asked not to be named, said she had driven all the way across New York City from New Jersey, where half of all businesses and homes are still without power. More than 80 percent of filling stations in the state were unable to sell gasoline as of Wednesday morning, said Sal Risalvato, head of the New Jersey Gasoline, Convenience, Automotive Association.
"It's going to be an ugly few days until we can see both power and supplies restored," Risalvato said.
Gasoline stations on New York's Long Island and the city borough of Staten Island also reported shortages, while lengthy lines were seen in the borough of Queens. Commuters may see higher prices at the pumps in the coming days, though oil traders said that with so many people unable to buy gasoline it may eventually lead to a surplus in the region.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency temporarily waived clean gasoline requirements for 16 states on the eastern seaboard through November 20 in a bid to help ease the supply crunch.
GAS BUT NO POWER, POWER BUT NO GAS
Kevin Beyer, president of the Long Island Gasoline Retailers Association in Smithtown, New York, estimated that less than half of all stations were able to sell fuel Wednesday morning.
"I have gas in the ground but no power. For many others they're facing the opposite problem, with power but no gasoline. For the few stations that are lucky enough to have both they've got huge lines out front," Beyer said.
"With the kind of demand they're seeing they're likely to run out of gasoline within the next 24 hours."
Beyer estimated it could take until the end of next week to get all fuel stations operating again.
New York State and New Jersey fuel retailers sell a combined average of 26 million gallons (620,000 barrels) of gasoline a day, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
The problem is not a severe shortage of gasoline in the Northeast, but widespread power outages and the storm-related logistical problems of getting the fuel from refineries and terminals to those who need it.
Jenn Hibbs, an account director at marketing firm Marden-Kane Inc in Garden City, Long Island, said there was only one gasoline station open within 10 miles of her house. Friends were sharing tips on Facebook about where they could get fuel, but two lines for gas leading to the service station were both over half a mile long.
"It's making people think about whether they can get to work, whether they have enough gas in the tank to get there and back," Hibbs said.
A line of cars at a gas station on Route 1 and 9 South in Linden, New Jersey, at one point stretched at least two miles.
PRICES SPIKE
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, oil traders bid up benchmark gasoline future contracts for November delivery, which expire on Wednesday, by as much as 20 cents a gallon during the trading session, before they fell back to settle just 3 cents higher at $2.76.
In Connecticut, the Gasoline & Automotive Service Dealers Of America said around 15 percent of gasoline stations were shut and warned drivers could see higher prices in the coming days.
Four of the region's six oil refineries were back to full production or increasing run rates on Wednesday. The second-largest - the Bayway plant in New Jersey - was still idle after flooding damage that traders fear could delay its return to full service. Key import terminals were also shut.
"Most of the problems are at the service station level with power and transportation to the stations," said Ralph Bombardiere, head of the New York State Association of Service Stations and Repair Shops.
Gasoline inventories in the Mid-Atlantic region were 16 percent below last year's level before the storm, but were enough to cover almost 23 days of total demand.
Power is slowly being restored. The Department of Energy said on Wednesday afternoon that 51 percent of homes and businesses in New Jersey were still without power. That was down from around 65 percent on Tuesday.
and......
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2012/10/31/sewage-bacteria-gasoline-found-in-nyc-floodwater/
Sewage, Bacteria, Gasoline Found in NYC Floodwater
Email
Credit: ABC News
Water is everywhere in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy – in basements, on the streets and in transit systems – but the one place that flood water is most dangerous is in your body.
ABC News chief health and medical editor Dr. Richard Besser collected floodwater and drinking water in some of the areas hit hardest by Sandy and had them tested at The Ambient Group lab. The floodwater collected in Lower Manhattan tested positive for gasoline and two types of bacteria found in sewage: E. coli and coliform.
“Very dangerous,” Besser said. “Make sure you wear protective gear if you are coming into contact with flood water.”
Looking at the testing containers filled with Manhattan floodwater, Besser explained that the yellow glow indicated that coliform bacteria was present at high levels. The purple fluorescence tells us that there are sky-high levels of E. coli from sewage contamination.
Today, he went to Piermont, N.Y., an area hit so hard by the hurricane that it’s under a boil water advisory, meaning residents are instructed not to drink tap water without first boiling it or purifying it with bleach.
When a power outage knocked out one of Piermont’s water pumps, officials were concerned about tap water contamination. The water company tested water from a hydrant, which initially ran brown, but eventually cleared.
Besser tested the hydrant water as well, and smelt chlorine in it, which helps protect it from bacteria.
He also collected tap water from a family’s home faucet and expects to review the lab results tomorrow which will indicate whether the family’s water was contaminated. Several families in the neighborhood are already boiling their water as a precaution.
Anyone in a flood-affected area should listen for alerts. While water companies are responsible for alerting residents whether their water is unsafe to drink, city officials also alert the community.
New York City, for instance, the Department of Environmental protection announced today that its water is safe to drink. Water in reservoirs 125 miles north of the city continue to be monitored closely with extra testing in the wake of the storm.
If you rely on well water and were in a flooded area, you should assume your water is contaminated until it can be tested. Follow the “boil water” advisories and boil your water for a full minute before using.
http://enenews.com/nj-officials-gas-main-believed-to-have-exploded-flames-shooting-out-of-sand-huge-fire-15-miles-from-nuclear-plant-crews-unable-to-access-area-video
WABC, Oct. 31, 2012 at 7:05a ET:
A huge fire was burning Wednesday morning in a New Jersey shore town that was hit hard by Hurricane Sandy.Flames were burning all over the cut-off barrier island of Mantoloking. There was a large cluster of flames and smaller fires spread out from it, with some flames shooting directly out of the sand.Authorities believed a gas main may have exploded and quickly spread across the island. The small town, which sits between the Atlantic Ocean and Barnegat Bay, suffered severe damage during the storm.Several homes were destroyed and continued to burn. It was unclear if the homes were destroyed by the fire or explosion or before it.Firefighters could not reach the blaze due to storm damage on the roads leading to Mantoloking from the mainland. [...]
http://www.weather.com/news/weather-hurricanes/sandy-top-five-20121028
Sandy continues to weaken over the interior Northeast, however gusty winds, snow and rain will linger into Wednesday.
Below are some of the latest developments as we continue to track Superstorm Sandy.
1: Millions Still Without Power
- As of 1 p.m. Eastern time Wednesday, over 5.9 million customers were without power due to Sandy.
- On Tuesday morning, a peak total of over 8 million customers were in the dark. Obviously the Northeast was hardest hit, but significant outages occurred in northern Ohio, and sporadic outages occurred as far away as northwest Indiana and northern Georgia.
- In some regions, power failures were nearly total. Governor Andrew Cuomo said 90% of Long Island families were without power Tuesday. One of New Jersey's utilities reported 86% of its 1.1 million customers were without power Tuesday morning, and that figure was still 86% early Wednesday.
(LATEST NEWS: NY, NJ and CT | Mid-Atlantic | New England)
2: Numerous Fatalities Reported
- As of mid-morning Wednesday, the total number of fatalities blamed on Sandy is 47 in the mainland United States plus one in Puerto Rico.
- Many of the victims were killed by falling trees.
- Sandy also killed 69 people in the Caribbean. Click here for a complete roundup of Sandy's aftermath in the Caribbean.
3: Staggering Damage
- Very early damage estimates suggest Sandy caused at least $10 billion in damage, and possiblyas much as $50 billion in total damage and lost business. The higher number would make Sandy the second-costliest storm in U.S. history, behind Katrina.
- Damage ranged from storm surge flooding to direct wind damage to devastating fires fueled by high winds and the difficulties fire departments faced in navigating flooded or blocked roads. We have more than 200 images of the devastation at this link.
- For video of the damage and aftermath, check out our video player at the top of this page.
- We also have a by-the-numbers breakdown of Sandy's top winds, worst surge and heaviest snow.
4: Chilly Weather in the Blackout Zone
Wed AM lows
Behind the storm, cold air has moved into areas where power is out.Wednesday morning temperatures were in the 30s and 40s across most areas without power, except for New England where 50s and lower 60s prevailed.New England will lose the mild advantage Thursday morning and 30s and 40s will prevail across the power outage regions for the next several mornings.Daytime highs will only rise into the 40s and 50s over most of the areas that are without power, with no warm-up expected through the next five days.
http://www.weather.com/news/weather-hurricanes/sandy-top-five-20121028
( Old links on Sandy below..... )
http://fredw-catharsisours.blogspot.com/2012/10/effects-from-sandy-just-getting-started.html
http://fredw-catharsisours.blogspot.com/2012/10/hurricane-sandy-update-sunday-october.html
Nice summary of the top five big items related to Sandy.....
http://www.weather.com/news/weather-hurricanes/sandy-top-five-20121028
Sandy continues to weaken over the interior Northeast, however gusty winds, snow and rain will linger into Wednesday.
Below are some of the latest developments as we continue to track Superstorm Sandy.
1: Millions Without Power
- As of Tuesday morning, The Weather Channel and weather.com News Desk reported that some 8 million customers were without power from Sandy.
- This number had fallen to around 6.6 million customers as of late Tuesday evening.
- Jersey Central Power & Light reported 86% of their 1.1 million New Jersey customers were without power as of sunrise Tuesday.
2: Numerous Fatalities Reported
- As of late Tuesday evening, the total number of fatalities blamed on Sandy is 45 in the United States plus one in Puerto Rico.
- Many of the victims were killed by falling trees.
- Sandy also killed 69 people in the Caribbean.
3: Amazing Photos and Video
- We continue to constantly update our amazing collection of photos of the damage Sandy left behind. You can access the more than 200 images at this link.
- We have a large number of videos that you can choose from in our video player at the top of this page.
3: Next: Cold to Hamper Recovery
Wed AM lows
Behind the storm, cold air has moved into areas where power is out.Expect early morning lows to bottom out in the 30s from the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley into the Tennessee Valley and Appalachians into the interior Northeast, with 40s for lows encroaching into lower elevations of the Mid-Atlantic States by Wednesday morning.Daytime highs will only rise into the 40s and 50s over much of the areas that may be without power through much of the rest of the work week.4: More than Two Feet of Snow
- Snow totals continued to climb higher on Tuesday. In some locations, snow piled up more than two feet high in the central Appalachians.
- Up to 29 inches of snow was reported in Redhouse, Md.
- Terra Alta, W.V. reported 24 inches of snow.
(INTERACTIVE: Radar | Winter Weather Alerts)
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