NEW YORK — Power is out for roughly 8 million east coast residents, but in New York, where debris-littered streets are mostly deserted and thousands remain in 76 city-run shelters, with dawn came a grim recognition of Sandy's impact.
"Sadly, the storm claimed the lives of people throughout the region, including at least 10 in our city, and, tragically, we expect that number to go up as information continues to come in," said Mayor Michael Bloomberg this morning at the Office of Emergency Management in Brooklyn. "And I do want to extend my condolences to all families who lost loved ones in the storm and ask all New Yorkers to keep them in their thoughts and prayers."
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Homes devastated by fire and effects of Hurricane Sandy at the Breezy Point section of the Queens borough of New York, October 30, 2012.
Water reaches the street level of the flooded Brooklyn Battery Tunnel, October 30, 2012, in New York. Superstorm Sandy arrived along the East Coast putting more than 7.5 million homes and businesses in the dark and causing a number of deaths.
One World Trade Center and large portions of lower Manhattan and Hoboken, New Jersey, are seen without power from Jersey City, New Jersey, October 30, 2012, the morning after a powerful storm flooded the subway system, shuttered financial markets and left hundreds of thousands without power.
Residents, including a young child, are rescued by emergency personnel from flood waters brought on by Hurricane Sandy in Little Ferry, New Jersey, October 30, 2012.
A woman is lifted into a National Guard vehicle after leaving her flooded home at the Metropolitan Trailer Park in Moonachie, New Jersay, October 30, 2012, after superstorm Sandy.
Elaine Belviso, 72, is rescued from her flooded home by Suffolk County police after being trapped there overnight by superstorm Sandy, October 30, 2012, in Babylon, New York.
A car is crushed under a fallen tree in the Lower East Side in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in New York, October 30, 2012.
A dead deer is pictured with driftwood and debris left by a combination of storm surge from Hurricane Sandy and high tide in Southampton, New York, October 30, 2012.
Boats lie piled up as people work to secure a fuel dock in the wake of superstorm Sandy, October 30, 2012, in West Babylon, New York.
Sand and debris cover a part of town near the ocean in Atlantic City, New Jersey, October 30, 2012, a day after Sandy made landfall.
Large chunks of the boardwalk are piled near an apartment building on the ocean in Atlantic City, New Jersey, October 30, 2012.
Kim Johnson looks at the destruction left by Sandy near her seaside apartment in Atlantic City, New Jersey, October 30, 2012.
Snow falls in Elkins, West Virginia, October 30, 2012, a day after Sandy slammed the eastern coast of the Unites States. In some parts of West Virginia, the collision of multiple storm systems could produce up to 3 feet of snow.
A man takes a picture of calm seas and sun-dappled clouds in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, at sunrise on Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, October 30, 2012.
An uprooted tree lies on top of a home after being pushed over by winds from Hurricane Sandy in Westhampton Beach, New York, October 30, 2012.
Consolidated Edision trucks are submerged on 14th Street near the ConEd power plant, October 29, 2012, in New York. Sandy knocked out power to at least 3.1 million people.
Sandy also impacted Canada, where flowers are left at the Toronto site where a woman was killed after being hit by a flying sign that shook loose due to high winds from the remnants of the hurricane, October 30, 2012.
This CCTV photo released by the official Twitter feed of The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey shows flood waters from Hurricane Sandy rushing in to the Hoboken PATH station through an elevator shaft on October 29, 2012 in Hoboken, New Jersey.
This photo provided by MTA Bridges and Tunnels shows floodwaters from Sandy entering the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel (former Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel), which was closed, October 29, 2012.
Rising water from the Hudson River overtakes a bank drive-through in Edgewater, New Jersey, October 29, 2012, as Hurricane Sandy lashed the East Coast.
The facade of a four-story building on 14th Street and 8th Avenue collapsed onto the sidewalk as FDNY firefighters respond, October 29, 2012, in New York.
FDNY inflatable boats travel along 14th street towards the East River on a rescue mission in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, October 29, 2012, in New York.
The skyline of lower Manhattan sits in darkness after a preventive power outage in New York, October 29, 2012.
Ambulances line up outside New York University Tisch Hospital during an evacuation of the hospital after its backup generator failed when the power was knocked out by Sandy, October 29, 2012.
A fire burns dozens of homes in a flooded neighborhood in the borough of Queens, New York, Oct. 30, 2012.x
A fire burns dozens of homes in a flooded neighborhood in the borough of Queens, New York, Oct. 30, 2012.
One of the worst natural disasters to hit the largest city in the United States, the devastation includes scores of fire-gutted homes, a flooded subway rail system, and badly damaged parks and shorelines. While Bloomberg warned residents that repairs cannot be done overnight and asked for cooperation, he said the city's priorities are restoring electricity and transportation.
Across the city, thousands of city workers and property owners are cleaning up.
Workers clear debris outside Consolidated Edison power sub-station on 14th Street, New York, Oct. 30, 2012.x
Workers clear debris outside Consolidated Edison power sub-station on 14th Street, New York, Oct. 30, 2012.
"There is a lot of trees down all over," said one city sanitation worker as he busied himself clearing debris. "Anything we can manage to get rid of we are going to get rid of. You drive around you see how bad it is.”
New York State officials say it may take days – and in some cases weeks – until power is restored.
In neighboring New Jersey, Governor Chris Christie called the devastation unprecedented.
Floor of the New York Stock Exchange is empty of traders, lower Manhattan, Oct. 29, 2012.x
Floor of the New York Stock Exchange is empty of traders, lower Manhattan, Oct. 29, 2012.
Wall Street was closed for a second day – the market's first two-day, weather-related shutdown in 124 years – and many business remain closed as the city recovers from what is considered the most damaging storm in its history.
The Story of Hurricane Sandy Told Through Pictures