Slowly, Surely New York And New Jersey Start To Recover From Sandy

That's one way to get around: A skateboarder Wednesday on First Avenue in Manhattan. (AFP/Getty Images)

By Mark Memmott, NPR

Life is no where near back to normal in New Jersey, New York City and surrounding areas that were punched hard by Superstorm Sandy, and it won't be for days if not weeks.

But on Morning Edition, NPR correspondents in Manhattan, Queens, Newark, N.J., and Stamford, Conn., were reporting that:

-- Limited subway service has been restored in Manhattan.

-- Some buses are running again in Newark.

-- Traffic — lots of it — is inching along over the Queensboro Bridge.

-- At least a few commuter trains are running into the city from the north.

Still, it's basically impossible to overstate the challenges that people in the region face. As New Jersey's The Star-Ledger writes this morning:

"Mantoloking was a war zone of ruined houses and isolated fires. The National Guard delivered relief supplies and evacuated residents in Hoboken. Across the state, long lines of frustrated motorists snaked for blocks leading to the few gas stations open for business, while tempers flared. Millions more found themselves without power — or heat in their homes — for yet another day, with no expectations of getting it back anytime soon."

Where do things stand as the day begins?

-- At least 66 deaths in the U.S. and 2 in Canada have been attributed to Sandy. Those follow an estimated 71 deaths in the Caribbean from when the storm blew threw there last week. (For updates later in the day, click here.)

-- More than 5 million customers are still without power. The bulk are in New Jersey and New York City. (For updates later in the day, click here.)

-- "Public health officials are warning that people in areas devastated by Superstorm Sandy face many risks in the aftermath and are urging people to protect themselves from health threats in the water, air and even their refrigerators," NPR's Shots blog reports.

-- New York's third major airport, LaGuardia, expects to be running limited service today. The Newark and JFK airports reopened — on a limited basis — Wednesday.