Sandy aftermath: US struggles to get back on its feet

The residents of United States east coast continue to struggle with flooding, blackouts and fuel shortages as the death toll from the Superstorm Sandy rises to above 90. The worst hit are New York City and New Jersey.

Almost there days after Sandy hit the US east coast, many thousands in New Jersey are being forced to stay in shelters. About 4.5 million customers in 12 states are still without power. And residents complained about slow distribution of food and water.

With despair and fear, the east coast struggles to limp back to normalcy.

Men inspect damage to a beach club destroyed by Hurricane Sandy in Sea Bright, New Jersey. The US Northeast began crawling back to normal on Wednesday after monster storm Sandy crippled transportation, knocked out power for millions and killed at least 45 people in nine states with a massive storm surge and rain that caused epic flooding.

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Much of New York's Lower Manhattan remains in the dark as lights stay on at One World Trade Center as seen from Weehawken, New Jersey. Rescuers searched flooded homes, drivers lined up for gasoline and millions remained without power as New York City and nearby towns struggled to recover from one of the biggest storms ever to hit the United States.

People raise the American flag among the wreckage of their homes devastated by fire and the effects of Hurricane Sandy in the Breezy Point section of the Queens borough of New York.

A table and two chairs are all that remains of a destroyed home on Cedar Grove Avenue in a neighborhood where many houses were heavily damaged or completely destroyed by storm surge flooding from Hurricane Sandy on the south side of the Staten Island section of New York City.

Deaths in the United States and Canada from Sandy, the massive storm that hit the U.S. East Coast this week, rose to at least 95 on Thursday after the number of  victims reported by authorities in New York City jumped and deaths in New Jersey and elsewhere also rose.

Women stand on a piece of the devastated Rockaway beach boardwalk that was blown onto Beach 91st street by Hurricane Sandy, in the Queens borough of New York. New York power company Consolidated Edison Inc said it still had about 6,59,400 homes and businesses without power three days after monster storm Sandy slammed into the US east coast.

A man looks at his watch while waiting for hours to get fuel from a gas station in the New York City borough of Queens. A fuel supply crisis stalling the New York City area's recovery from Hurricane Sandy and reviving memories of the 1970s gasoline shortages stem from multiple factors, ranging from flooding to power outages to a diesel spill.

Clothing dirtied in the flood waters deposited by Hurricane Sandy rest on top of a car in the New Dorp Beach neighborhood of the Staten Island borough of New York.

Commuters wait for a shuttle bus to Manhattan from the Brooklyn Borough of New York. New Yorkers heard the rumble of subway trains for the first time in four days as limited service resumed, but the lower half of Manhattan still lacked power and surrounding areas including Staten Island, the New Jersey shore and the city of Hoboken remained crippled from Hurricane Sandy, which triggered a record storm surge and flooding.

A child eats food outside a grocery store damaged by Hurricane Sandy that was handing out food and other supplies in the Rockaways section of the Queens borough of New York.

People line up on along a street in Manhattan to take buses back to the Brooklyn borough in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in New York. Subway trains crawled back to limited service after being shut down since Sunday.

Commuters walk across the Brooklyn Bridge into lower Manhattan after subway service was suspended due to flooding from Hurricane Sandy.

People line up to fill their gas cans with fuel at a station in Manhattan, in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in New York.

A diesel only sign is seen outside a Gulf fueling station in the Queens borough of New York.

A fuel supply crisis stalling the New York City area's recovery from Hurricane Sandy and reviving memories of the 1970s gasoline shortages stem from multiple factors, ranging from flooding to power outages to a diesel spill.

People travel in a bus from Manhattan back to the Brooklyn borough in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in New York.

People try to open their garage on the floodwaters in Hoboken, New Jersey.

A scrawled message to reopen is written on the door of an arcade at the FunTown Amusement Pier three days after Hurricane Sandy came ashore in Seaside Heights, New Jersey.

Boats, dumpsters and other debris block the North Jersey Coast Line rail track at Morgan Draw Bridge in New Jersey in the aftermath of Sandy.

Homeowners remove damaged furniture from their damaged home caused by Hurricane Sandy, in Bay Head, New Jersey.

A full bus drives up 1st Avenue in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in New York. New York City and the sodden US Northeast began an arduous journey back to normal on Wednesday after mammoth storm Sandy killed at least 64 people in a rampage that swamped coastal cities and cut power to millions.

Employees from Metropolitan Transportation Authority work to restore the South Ferry subway station after it was flooded by seawater in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in this handout photo supplied by the MTA in New York.

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