BEACH HAVEN, N.J. — Hurricane Sandy's departure from the Northeast on Tuesday brought no hint of relief, revealing instead a terrible tableau of splintered trees, severed beaches and shuttered businesses, and the harsh reality that the storm will test even the most hardened resolve in the weeks to come.
The storm's U.S. death toll rose to least 48, including three children, and the property damage estimate rose to $20 billion. More than 8 million homes and businesses, from the tip of Maine to South Carolina, were without power, and some might not get it back for 10 days, officials said.
Inland, "thundersnow" blizzards buried more than half of West Virginia in as much as 2 feet of snow and the roofs of some houses began to collapse.
STATE BY STATE: Snow piles up, beaches wash away
In the tight-knit beach town of Breezy Point, N.Y., as many as 100 homes were destroyed in a ferocious electrical fire, injuring three people. Near Hackensack, N.J., authorities launched a frantic rescue effort after a flood spilled over a riverbank, rose to the bottom of stop signs in less than an hour and trapped scores of people.
Pockets of New York City, particularly Manhattan, remained crippled. The subway system, central to its role as an anchor of American finance and culture, was flooded and closed for a second day. The New York Stock Exchange was closed by weather for the second day in a row, for the first time since before the city was consolidated into five boroughs.
Authorities pledged a recovery and relief effort unprecedented in scope and cooperation. "No bureaucracy. No red tape," said President Obama, who called off a third day of campaigning for next week's election. "America is with you."
VIDEOS: East Coast hit by deadly storm
The spirit was bearing fruit. Obama, for instance, unlocked federal money for New York and New Jersey with a major-disaster declaration, skipping the typical post-storm assessments and signing the paperwork Tuesday even as the tail end of Sandy remained overhead. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said he asked Obama to speed up the declaration process "without all the normal FEMA mumbo-jumbo."
And U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced he had made $13 million in quick-release emergency funds available to New York and Rhode Island — the first two states that asked for it — to begin repairing damage to roads, bridges and tunnels.
Despite the unified front, however, some areas bordered on desperation.
"Oh, my God! Oh, my God!" wailed Diane Vanderhorn, 46, after hiking back to Beach Haven, N.J., to find that her rented bungalow had flooded and that seawater had filled her sedan to the dashboard. "What am I going to do now?"
PHOTOS: Massive U.S. storms
In Berkleley Heights, N.J., the power was out all day, except for a narrow strip of roadway that included Benham's garage. The garage's gas pumps were running, but running low. A crush of cars and people, some toting red gasoline cans, lined up for the precious few remaining drops before Benham's ran dry.
"We're the only game in town, and we won't last much longer," said Bob Kaiser, a barrel-chested attendant clutching a wad of cash, as the last gasoline from one pump only half-filled a customer's gas can.
Those who managed to reach the gas station had negotiated around fallen trees, downed power lines and flooded roads. They left behind darkened homes, a few of them crushed by falling trees. Roads were a jumble of yellow police tape, massive tree trunks and instant lakes of churning brown water that cut some towns in half.
Hundreds of people were out in the streets, in cars and on foot, searching for food, ice, water or gasoline. Police had cordoned off stretches of road blocked by fallen trees or snaking power lines, but some people ducked under the tape to take shortcuts.
At Benham's garage, Kaiser said the station had 1,200 gallons of gasoline – more than two days' normal supply – at 10 a.m. Tuesday. By 2:30, almost all of it was gone.
Carlos Chavarriaga, who lives a few miles away in North Plainfield, maneuvered around road closings to the Stop & Shop supermarket in Berkeley Heights. He was desperate for ice to keep perishable foods fresh at home, where his electricity had been out since Sandy roared through with 80-mph winds Monday night.
"We stocked up on food and ice, but ice only lasts so long,"' Chavarriaga said, loading several heavy bags of ice into his car.
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