Hurricane Sandy

Politics has become intertwined with the recovery after Superstorm Sandy but the presidential election isn’t the only race drawing attention as the New York City Marathon is set to take place this Sunday. 

As the word spread Thursday of the difficulty that oil companies were having in delivering gasoline to service stations, panic set in from New Jersey to New York City and up into the Hudson Valley.

By late afternoon, vehicles were lined up for blocks in the region, waiting to buy the “liquid gold.” Compounding the problem was the continued major power outage with people buying generators in record numbers, adding to the demand at the pumps.

Many stations ran out of gas with people still waiting at the pumps.

  Sullivan County public safety and fire officials are concerned about the increase in carbon monoxide calls that have come in over the last two days.

The Westchester County Department of Health on Wednesday urged people with private wells that were flooded to either boil their water before consumption or to use bottled water as a precautionary measure since sewage and other harmful contaminants can be washed into private wells by storm waters. 

Though slow-going, rebuilding continues after Superstorm Sandy’s devastation earlier this week. The storm has left millions without power and has crippled transportation to and from New York City and mass transit throughout the five boroughs. An update now on the recovery efforts around the Northeast:

Groups and agencies in the northern parts of our region that were not impacted by Hurricane Sandy are stepping up to send help to the storm ravaged areas.

Last year parts of Vermont and northern New York were ripped apart by Tropical Storm Irene, and now they want to help those impacted by Sandy. Some of the first volunteers heading south are from the Vermont and New Hampshire Upper Valley American Red Cross.  Spokesman Doug Bishop says the eight  trained individuals being deployed left for a staging area in White Plains.

Governor Cuomo took a helicopter tour of areas  devastated from Hurricane Sandy, along with New York’s
Senators Schumer and Gillibrand.  He says the state faces “significant” challenges to rebuild, and will have to “fundamentally” rethink   New York City’s infrastructure  going forward.

Steady progress was made Tuesday in repairing damage to Central Hudson’s electric system in the wake of severe winds delivered by Tropical Storm Sandy.

By 8 p.m., power was restored to more than 50,000, or nearly half of all impacted customers, and crews worked throughout the night.

State and federal officials, utility companies, and transportation service providers knew the recovery from Hurricane Sandy would be a long, uphill battle across the Northeast. Here's an update on the status of recovery services and transportation in some of the hardest hit areas: