President Barack Obama witnessed the extent of the damage during a visit to the devastated New Jersey coastline Wednesday. NBC's Lester Holt reports.
By Miguel Llanos
New in this version: U.S. declares public health emergency in N.Y.; death toll estimated at 63
Updated at 7:29 p.m. ET: President Barack Obama surveyed New Jersey's battered coastline Wednesday, saying the federal government was "going to be here for the long haul" as the state and 15 others dealt with cleanup and power failures two days after Superstorm Sandy tore through.
M. Alex Johnson, Jim Miklaszewski and Ali Weinberg of NBC News; NBC 4 in New York, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
After a helicopter tour, Obama visited residents in hard-hit Brigantine, where he made his promise of long-term support for areas devastated across the Northeast.
"We are here for you, and we will not forget," he added.
He was shown around by Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican and vocal backer of presidential challenger Mitt Romney who nevertheless has praised Obama and the federal response to the storm.
Related: Political side to Obama, Christie mutual praise
"We will get up and get this rebuilt," Christie said in remarks with Obama at his side.
Christie earlier had said he would ask the president to direct the Army Corps of Engineers to figure out how to rebuild beaches to better protect devastated areas.
Superstorm Sandy made landfall Monday evening on a destructive and deadly path across the Northeast.
Christie ordered that Halloween trick-or-treating be moved to Monday because of the unsafe conditions. Aerial views of the coastline Wednesday showed mile after mile of destruction: a neighborhood on fire, others swamped by sand and evacuations still happening in places with high water.
Recovery operations Wednesday got a boost from the Navy, which ordered three helicopter carrier ships to the New Jersey and New York coasts, officials told NBC News.
The USS Wasp, the USS Carter Hall and the USS Mesa Verde will provide landing platforms for Coast Guard, the National Guard and civilian agency helicopters if needed, the officials said, adding that the Atlantic Fleet Forces Command made the decision in the name of "prudent planning."
Point Pleasant, N.J. ? once prime beachfront real estate ? has been transformed by Sandy. NBC's Brian Williams reports.
Wall Street reopened Wednesday, as did some airports, but about 6 million homes and businesses ? two-thirds in New Jersey and New York ? still were without power Wednesday afternoon. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that New York homeowners wouldn't have to pay potentially large deductibles on insurance claims stemming from Sandy's damage.
Two days after landfall, Sandy was still affecting areas from the Atlantic coast to as far inland as Chicago:
- Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius declared a public health emergency for New York, helping to make sure Medicare, Medicaid and children's health beneficiaries continue to receive services.About 500 patients at New York City's Bellevue Hospital were evacuated to other hospitals after floodwaters crippled its equipment and power supply.
- Three of seven flooded East River tunnels in New York City were cleared of water Wednesday, and some subway service was set to resume Thursday. Full bus service was restored, as was some train service.
- New York City schools will be closed the rest of the week, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.
- 90 percent of Long Island was without power, and it could take as long as 10 days to restore all service, Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y., told MSNBC.
- Sewage was backing up into homes near a flooded sewage plant in Nassau County on Long Island. An official feared that it could spread to thousands of homes.
- The U.N. Security Council had to move because of water damage to parts of U.N. headquarters in Manhattan.
- Fires that destroyed more than a dozen homes in a New Jersey shore town rekindled overnight because of natural gas leaks, NBC New York reported. Fires destroyed homes in other communities up and down the coast.
- National Guard troops evacuated some people in Hoboken, N.J., and brought food to others, NBC New York reported. Half of the city flooded, stranding about 20,000 people.
- New Jersey's barrier islands were literally reshaped by the surge of water, NBC News' Al Roker reported.
- More than 3 feet of snow had fallen in parts of West Virginia, where 220,000 homes and businesses were without power Wednesday afternoon. Red House, Md., got 30 inches of snow.
- In Chicago, forecasters warned that high waves and flooding were possible on the Lake Michigan shore Wednesday. Sandy caused waves up to two stories high on the Great Lakes on Tuesday, forcing cargo ships ? some longer than three football fields ? to seek shelter. "We don't stop for thunderstorms and flurries," said Glen Nekvasil, a spokesman for the Lake Carriers' Association. "But this was just too much."
- In New Haven, Conn., Sandy blew down a tree that uprooted human remains and what appeared to be a time capsule.
News agency reports indicate that Sandy has claimed at least 63 lives in the U.S. after having killed at least 71 in the Caribbean.
In New Jersey, aerial footage Wednesday showed fires raging among storm-damaged homes and sand pushed inland. TODAY's Natalie Morales reported from the air that she counted 25 separate points of flame.
Related: BreakingNews.com's coverage of Sandy
Boats that Morales said had been "tossed as if toys" could be seen piled up next to wrecked houses in the area.
The National Guard arrived Wednesday in Hoboken, N.J., rescuing the elderly trapped inside their homes and delivering food and supplies. NBC's Katy Tur reports.
In Hoboken, across from Manhattan, live wires dangled in floodwaters that were rapidly mixing with sewage.
The lower half of Manhattan remained without power after a transformer explosion at a Con Edison substation Monday night.
Two of the area's three major airports ? Kennedy in New York and Newark Liberty in New Jersey ? reopened with limited service Wednesday. New York's LaGuardia Airport was projected to reopen Thursday with limited flight schedules. Nearly 19,000 flights have been canceled since Sunday.
Sunday's New York Marathon is still on, but flying in runners from out of town will be tricky. The National Basketball Association canceled the season-opening game between the New York Knicks and the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday because of damage around the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
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