Rescue workers began evacuating stranded residents fromflooded neighbourhoods after Sandy, the most devastating megastorm in decades,hit densely populated US East coast region, even as President Barack Obamawarned that the storm was "not yet over".
The storm hit the East coast with fierce force, killingnearly 50 people across seven US states, plunging millions of homes intodarkness and leaving the New York Stock Exchange shut for two straight days forthe first time since 1888. Many of the victims were killed by falling trees,Fox news said.
Describing the crisis triggered by superstorm Sandy as"heartbreaking", Obama warned the storm was "not yet over".
"This storm is not yet over," Obama said duringhis trip to the headquarters of the American Red Cross in Washington.
Obama drove down to the Red Cross office headquarters toreview rescue and recovery operation and said the federal government would pushhard to provide resources to the States badly hit by Sandy.
According to a White House statement, Obama will travel toNew Jersey to have a personal assessment of the devastation and take stock ofthe situation on the ground.
The trail of destruction left by the monster storm promptedPresident Obama to declare it a "major disaster" in New York and NewJersey.
New York and New Jersey combined together has one of thelargest concentrations of Indian-Americans in the US. Quite a number ofIndian-Americans, particularly in New Jersey, had to leave their homes and hadto be evacuated after their houses were flooded.
Recovery efforts took off late last night. The number ofpeople shivering without power fell below 7 million, down from nearly 8 millionreported earlier in the day across 15 states and the District of Columbia.
Two of the New York area's major airports, John F Kennedyand Newark Liberty, were set to reopen today together with the New York stockexchange and the Nasdaq exchange, which had been suspended since Monday in themarkets' first closure since the 9/11 attacks of 2001, officials said.
