Suckerpunch Nor’easter adds to the misery of Superstorm Sandy victims
A nor’easter added a wet blanket of snow to areas of New York and New Jersey still recovering from Superstorm Sandy.
- Fatima Quentiro walks with her granddaughter Galalea Castro through the snow to a bus stop to take a bus to Quenitro’s home after Castro’s home was damaged by flooding as a Nor’Easter approaches in the Rockaway neighborhood in the Queens borough of New York City. The two are wearing jackets donated by the NYC Marathon. The Rockaway Peninsula was especially hard hit by Superstorm Sandy and some are evacuating ahead of the coming storm. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
- Pedestrians walk through high winds and snow near Union Square on November 7, 2012 in New York City. The city was hit by a Nor’Easter storm, just ten days after Superstorm Sandy ravaged the tri-state area. (John Moore/Getty Images)
- People walk through a darkened street using flashlights as a police spotlight shines behind them during a Nor’Easter snowstorm in the Rockaway neighborhood on November 7, 2012 in the Queens borough of New York City. The Rockaway Peninsula was especially hard hit by Superstorm Sandy and some are evacuating ahead of the coming storm. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
- A repair worker is silhouetted by a police spotlight as he walks down a darkened street during a Nor’Easter snowstorm on November 7, 2012 in the Rockaway neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
- Snow blows past debris and nonfunctioning streetlights during a Nor’Easter snowstorm on November 7, 2012 in the Rockaway neighborhood. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
- A darkened street is illuminated by police spotlights during a Nor’Easter snowstorm in the Rockaway neighborhood on November 7, 2012 in the Queens borough of New York City. The Rockaway Peninsula was especially hard hit by Superstorm Sandy and some are evacuating ahead of the coming storm. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
- People wait on line to buy gasoline during a Nor’Easter snowstorm on November 7, 2012 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. The city is still experiencing long gas lines in the wake of Superstorm Sandy. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
- People stand on a destroyed section of boardwalk to check the storm’s approach as a Nor’Easter arrives in the Rockaway neighborhood on November 7, 2012 in the Queens borough of New York City. The Rockaway Peninsula was especially hard hit by Superstorm Sandy and some are evacuating ahead of the coming storm. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
- Linemen from Chain Electric, a contract utility crew that drove in from Mississippi to help Consolidated Edison , install a new transformer November 7, 2012, to help restore electric power that has been out since Hurricane Sandy struck the East Coast, in the community of Oakwood Beach, on Staten Island, New York. (Paul J. Richards/Getty Images)
- Crews pile garbage and house debris in parking lots post Hurricane Sandy on Long Beach Island, New Jersey, November 7, 2012 in this handout photo courtesy of the governor’s office. (New Jersey Governor’s Office/Tim Larsen)
- A man walks through piles of debris that have not been removed by the Department of Sanitation outside of homes damaged from flooding that inundated the area during hurricane Sandy in the Queens borough neighborhood of Belle Harbor, New York, November 8, 2012. (Lucas Jackson/Reuters)
- A worker deposits steel onto the top of a pile of debris stacked up outside of homes damaged from flooding that inundated the area during hurricane Sandy in the Queens borough neighborhood of Belle Harbor, New York, November 8, 2012. (Lucas Jackson/Reuters)
- A man stands in the street amongst piles of debris piled up outside of people’s homes due to the flooding from hurricane Sandy that are covered in snow left by a nor’easter, also known as a northeaster storm, in the Queens borough neighborhood of Rockaway Beach, New York, November 8, 2012. (Lucas Jackson/Reuters)
- Residents walk down a street past piles of debris piled up outside of people’s homes due to the flooding from hurricane Sandy that are covered in snow left by a nor’easter, also known as a northeaster storm, in the Queens borough neighborhood of Rockaway Beach, New York, November 8, 2012. (Lucas Jackson/Reuters)
- A man cleans debris off of a sidewalk across the street from buildings destroyed by a fire that took place during hurricane Sandy amongst snow left on the ground from a nor’easter, also known as a northeaster storm, in the Queens borough neighborhood of Rockaway Park, New York, November 8, 2012. (Lucas Jackson/Reuters)
- A man walks past buildings destroyed by a fire that took place during hurricane Sandy and through snow left on the ground after a nor’easter, also known as a northeaster storm, in the Queens borough neighborhood of Rockaway Park, New York, November 8, 2012. (Lucas Jackson/Reuters)
- An unseasonably early-winter storm batters the already hard hit area of Oceanpoint, New Jersey, in this handout photo from the American Red Cross taken November 7, 2012. The storm brought snow, rain and dangerous winds to the U.S. Northeast, plunging many residents of the most populous region of the country back into darkness just as they were recovering from Superstorm Sandy. Photo taken November 7, 2012. (Les Stone/American Red Cross/Reuters)
- Snow covers clothes hanging outside a home, which was left destroyed by Hurricane Sandy, in the Staten Island borough of New York November 7, 2012. A wintry storm dropped snow on the U.S. Northeast on Wednesday and threatened to bring dangerous winds and flooding to a region still climbing out from the devastation of Superstorm Sandy. (Adrees Latif/Reuters)
- A man walks down a street past a snow covered fallen tree in Roslyn Heights, New York November 8, 2012. An unseasonably early-winter storm brought snow, rain and dangerous winds to the U.S. Northeast, plunging many residents of the most populous region of the country back into darkness just as they were recovering from Superstorm Sandy. (Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)
- A man rides his bike as a firefighter truck attends to a call as it snows during the nor’easter, also known as a northeaster storm, in Jersey City, New Jersey November 7, 2012. A wintry storm dropped snow and rain on the U.S. Northeast on Wednesday, bringing dangerous winds and knocking out power in a region where hundreds of thousands were still in the dark after Superstorm Sandy. (Eduardo Munoz/Reuters)
- A boat deposited on the street during Hurricane Sandy is seen amid snow fall from nor’easter, also known as a northeaster storm, in Lindenhurst, New York November 7, 2012. The wintery nor’easter storm added misery to thousands of people whose homes were destroyed by superstorm Sandy, which killed 120 people when it smashed ashore on October 29 in the New York-New Jersey area, swallowing entire neighborhoods with rising seawater and blowing homes from their foundations.(Lucas Jackson/Reuters)
- Homeowner Chris Brady stands at a wall of windows damaged by Hurricane Sandy to watch snow fall during nor’easter, also known as a northeaster storm in Lindenhurst, New York November 7, 2012. The wintery nor’easter storm added misery to thousands of people whose homes were destroyed by superstorm Sandy, which killed 120 people when it smashed ashore on October 29 in the New York-New Jersey area, swallowing entire neighborhoods with rising seawater and blowing homes from their foundations. (Lucas Jackson/Reuters)
- A woman struggles with her umbrella in the wind and snow in New York, November 7, 2012. A wintry storm dropped snow on the Northeast and threatened to bring dangerous winds and flooding to a region still climbing out from the devastation of superstorm Sandy. (Brendan McDermid/Reuters)
- A man rides his bike in the snow during the nor’easter, also known as a northeaster storm, in Jersey City, New Jersey November 7, 2012. A wintry storm dropped snow and rain on the U.S. Northeast on Wednesday, bringing dangerous winds and knocking out power in a region where hundreds of thousands were still in the dark after Superstorm Sandy. (Eduardo Munoz/Reuters)
- Alexander Serrano tosses a bag of debris on to a pile outside a home in the West Beach Haven community of Manahawkin, New Jersey November 8, 2012, as recover efforts continue in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. A nor’easter Wednesday in New York and New Jersey knocked power out for hundreds of thousands of people and slowed utilities’ efforts to restore service to more than 600,000 still without power in the wake of superstorm Sandy. (Tom Mihalek/Reuters)
- A pile of belongings, coated with a few inches of snow, is seen outside a home in the West Beach Haven community of Manahawkin, New Jersey November 8, 2012 as recovery efforts continue in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. A nor’easter Wednesday in New York and New Jersey knocked power out for hundreds of thousands of people and slowed utilities’ efforts to restore service to more than 600,000 still without power in the wake of superstorm Sandy. (Tom Mihalek/Reuters)
More Sandy coverage from The Darkroom:
Northeast digs out from snow, gas rationing spreads
Daniel Trotta and Barbara Goldberg | Reuters
4:25 p.m. EST, November 8, 2012
NEW YORK (Reuters) – New York City and much of the Northeast on Thursday dug out from a snowstorm that hammered a region still struggling to recover from the devastation of Superstorm Sandy, as local governments expanded gasoline rationing in the face of shortages that may last for weeks.
The unseasonably early winter storm dumped more than a foot of snow on parts of Connecticut on Wednesday and slapped the region with 50 mph winds, plunging 300,000 homes and businesses back into darkness.
Bitter cold, rain, snow and powerful winds added to the misery of disaster victims whose homes were destroyed or power was knocked out by Sandy, which smashed ashore on October 29 and caused widespread flooding, leading up to as much as $50 billion in economic losses.
The snowstorm created another commuting nightmare for a region whose transportation system was already under repair because of the hurricane. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the city would begin an indefinite program of gas rationing Thursday, modeled on one New Jersey implemented last week.
“It now appears there will be shortages for possibly another couple weeks,” Bloomberg said, later adding “if you think about it, it’s not any great imposition once you get used to it.”
Neighboring counties would implement a similar program, he said, in an effort to cut down lines that ran for hours at local filling stations following Sandy. The city’s iconic yellow taxis are exempt from the new regulation, which allows drivers to fill up on alternating days depending on their license plate number.
OUTRAGE GROWS
New Yorkers, never known for holding their tongues, let their exasperation with the bad weather show.
“God hates us!” the New York Post said in a front-page headline. Some 3 to 6 inches of snow fell on the city, which enjoyed dry, sunny weather on Thursday.
Residents at Waterside Plaza, an apartment complex built over the East River on the Manhattan shore, had their power restored on Wednesday – temporarily, anyway.
“Then the power went and failed one more time, then came back again, then failed in the evening, then came back again, then failed again this morning and hasn’t come back,” said Josh Bright, a 39-year-old photojournalist, as he climbed the stairs to his apartment on the 26th floor to feed his cats.
Sandy’s death toll in the United States and Canada reached 121 after New York authorities on Wednesday reported another death linked to the storm in the hard-hit coastal neighborhood of the Rockaways, a barrier island facing the Atlantic Ocean.
“Can you believe this? Enough is enough,” said Cindy Casey, whose Belle Harbor home one block from the beach in the Rockaways was swamped by Sandy, as she looked out at the snow blanketing the neighborhood devastated by flooding and fire.
RELATED LINKS
Reuters Factbox: 662,000 still without power in East due to Sandy
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Mary
Nov 09, 2012 @ 00:30:22
I can’t imagine!! This is why I’m grateful to live in Oregon. We get everything in moderation but no hurricanes or tornados.