Con Ed: B'klyn, Manhattan customers should have power in 4 days

People look at destruction in South Street Seaport on Tuesday... — People look at destruction in South Street Seaport on Tuesday as New Yorkers clean up the morning after Hurricane Sandy made landfall. The storm left large parts of New York City without power and transportation. Credit: Getty

By Reuters/amNY/NewsdayOctober 30, 2012

More than 2 million New Yorkers state wide are without power in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said on CNBC Tuesday morning.

"It's a more complicated situation for us than usual because there's basically a reciprocity with other states, where in a power situation other states will send in their crews,” Cuomo said. “Because so many states were affected here, we're trying to get crews from as far away as Texas and California. We're using National Guard personnel to do power restoration. And then we'll get on with the long-term reconstruction."

Con Edison reported about 780,000 customers with no power in the city and Westchester as of 11 a.m. Tuesday.

The company estimates that customers in Brooklyn and Manhattan served by underground electric equipment should have power back within four days.

Restoration to all customers in other areas served by overhead power lines will take at least a week.

"Make no mistake about it: This was a devastating storm, maybe the worst we have ever experienced," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.

Sandy's nationwide death toll climbed to at least 35, according to the Associated Press.

"Sadly the storm claimed lives throughout the region, including at least 10 in our city ... and we expect that number to go up," Bloomberg said.

Water poured into the subway tunnels, and Bloomberg said the subway system would likely be closed for four or five days.

In the storm's wake, President Barack Obama issued federal emergency decrees for New York and New Jersey, declaring that "major disasters" existed in both states.

One disaster-forecasting company predicted economic losses could ultimately reach $20 billion, only half insured.

Sandy brought a record storm surge of almost 14 feet to downtown Manhattan, well above the previous record of 10 feet during Hurricane Donna in 1960, the National Weather Service said. Hurricane-force winds as high as 90 miles per hour were recorded, according to Jeffrey Tongue, a meteorologist for the weather service in Brookhaven.

"Hopefully it's a once-in-a-lifetime storm," he told Reuters.

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