Kasey Ferrell

Staff Writer

    With New Jersey still reeling from the effects of Hurricane Sandy, President Obama told the community center in Brigantine that the “entire country has been watching what’s been happening.”  The president gave his remarks following a tour of the hurricane-ravaged coast.  One day when 2.1 million New Jersey homes and businesses remain powerless, the president said that restoring the power is “the top priority.” 

    The devastating impact of this storm continues to be felt in other ways throughout the rest of the states.  A fire, ignited by broken natural gas lines, in the South Mantoloking section of Brick Township.  Police now say more than 100 homes along the oceanfront were burned or destroyed in the hurricane. 

    Lines at gas stations are dozens of cars deep and fuel could become increasingly rare in the coming days.

    With many of the states grocery stores still in the dark, food supply may also become an issue in the worst affected areas.

    Temperatures are expected to drop into the upper 30s in many areas.  This is a growing problem for anyone still without heat, especially the elderly and feeble.

    David Robinson; the state climatologist at Rutgers University, called Sandy the “worst storm New Jersey has seen”.

    The announcements bring New Jersey’s death total from the storm to at least an eight.  The deaths include a man whose body was pulled from the Hackensack River, a Randolph couple crushed by a tree in Mendham and others hit by trees in Jefferson, Princeton and Hawthorne.  --Nationwide the death toll from Hurricane Sandy has surpassed 55.  Another 69 were killed by the storm in the Caribbean. 

    Ledger Reporter MaryAnn Spoto described a similar scene in nearly every town, one of demolished homes, buildings and oceanfront boardwalks, along sand-covered streets.  “All boardwalks were destroyed in a five-mile stretch,” she said.  “Homes in the northern and southern sections of Belmar were still submerged in water.  The main ocean road was unrecognizable because of the sand.” 

    The waters receded inland, exposing a coastline littered with debris from damaged houses.  One fishing pier was destroyed, whilst the other was severely damaged, its easternmost tip chopped off.

    The storm continues to cause widespread closures, from roads to schools to government offices to the courts.  So far, only Monmouth County said it will keep its courthouse closed.  Jersey City has imposed a curfew on businesses and pedestrians from 7 P.M. to 7 A.M., adding to a growing list that includes all of Monmouth County, Hackensack, Atlantic City among many others.  Jersey City also announced that it would keep all it’s public and private schools closed until Monday, November 5th, 2012. 

Most major roadways have reopened, but NJ Transit and PATH service remains suspended.  The Holland Tunnel is closed, along with the New York City subway system.  Newark Liberty International Airport reopened at 7 A.M. with the arrival of a FedEx cargo flight. 

Utility officials said more than 2 million customers are still without power.  Jersey Central Power & Light reports 950,000 outages and Atlanta City Electric was down to 114,000.  Public Service Electric & Gas said approximately 1,090,000 customers have no power.  PSE&G’s president, Ralph LaRossa said, “Our urban centers were especially hard hit as a result of substation flooding.  One of our first priorities is to get those stations back in service.” 

    In Newark, the lights were back on the morning of October 31, 2012 in much of the city.  “Outages and sporadic fires remain a problem, but the city has not had any major problems,” said Newark Mayor Cory Booker. 

    Governor Christie signed an executive order to postpone Halloween until Monday, November 5, 2012 because of unsafe conditions throughout New Jersey in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.  In a statement, Christine said, “In too many communities in our state, the damage and losses from this storm are still being sorted out, and dangerous conditions abound even as our emergency management and response officials continue their work."