NEW YORK, NY (NEWS1130) – As Superstorm Sandy churned slowly inland, millions along the US East Coast are still without power or mass transit, and huge swaths of New York City were unusually dark and abandoned.

Forty-eight people in the US have been killed in seven states, many from falling trees.

There are reports the damage could top $20 billion US and people have started to come out of their homes and are assessing the damage, trying to help wherever they can.

The storm that made landfall in New Jersey Monday night with 130 kph sustained winds cut power to more than six-million homes and businesses from the Carolinas to Ohio.

New York was among the hardest hit, with its financial heart closed for a second day and seawater cascading into the still-gaping construction pit at the World Trade Centre.

The storm caused the worst damage in the 108-year history of New York’s extensive subway system, according to Joseph Lhota, the chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

CityTV Breakfast Television’s Dawn Chubai is in New York City and says people are out and about on the streets there, but it’s quite chaotic.

“Some of the biggest concerns right now are people getting supplies. That was probably my biggest surprise — walking through some of these convenience stores and seeing that a lot of shelves are starting to really empty out,” explains Chubai.

She adds for the most part, people are letting the crews do their work, but some are getting in the way. “We have witnessed families, little kids making their way with their parents or grandparents or whoever through these parks and at this point you still don’t really know where the damage.”oba

Trading at the New York Stock Exchange was cancelled Monday and Tuesday — the first time the exchange suspended operations for two consecutive days due to weather since a blizzard in 1888. The NYSE is expected to reopen tomorrow.

In Queens, a flooded neighbourhood has lost between 80 and 100 houses in a fire.

President Obama has declared a major disaster in New York and Long Island, making federal funding available to residents of the area. Tomorrow, Obama will tour hard-hit New Jersey to see the damage first-hand.

New York City’s three major airports remain closed. Overall, more than 13,500 flights had been cancelled, almost all related to the storm.

An unprecedented 3.9-meter surge of seawater — 90 centimetres above the previous record — gushed into lower Manhattan, inundating tunnels, subway stations and the electrical system that powers Wall Street and sent hospital patients and tourists scrambling for safety.

Skyscrapers swayed and creaked in winds that partially toppled a crane 74 stories above Midtown.

In New Jersey, where the superstorm came ashore, hundreds of people were being evacuated in rising water this morning. Officials were using boats to try to rescue about 800 people living in a trailer park in Moonachie. There were no reports of injuries or deaths. Local authorities initially reported a levee had broken, but Gov. Chris Christie said a berm overflowed.

The massive storm reached well into the Midwest. Chicago officials warned residents to stay away from the Lake Michigan shore as the city prepared for winds of up to 96 kph and waves exceeding 7.2 metres.

As Hurricane Sandy closed in on the Northeast, it converged with a cold-weather system that turned it into a monstrous hybrid of rain and high winds — even bringing snow in West Virginia and other mountainous areas inland.

President Obama scrapped campaign events to stay at the White House to oversee the government’s response to the superstorm. Mitt Romney went ahead with a planned event in Ohio, but his campaign said its focus would be on storm relief.

Canada’s public safety minister says the coast guard and military services are on standby in case they are needed but so far they haven’t been called upon.

Train Service is US Northeast suspended

Amtrak says most train service in the US Northeast remains suspended, and a decision will be made on restoring limited service north and south of New York today.

The railroad said in a statement that Amtrak crews are inspecting tunnels, tracks, equipment and stations to assess damage from Hurricane Sandy and are beginning to make repairs to sections of Amtrak-owned track.

Most Amtrak service on the East Coast as far north as Boston and as far south as Raleigh, North Carolina, remains suspended, and stations along those routes are closed.

Power outages, one GTA death due to Sandy

Superstorm Sandy has left tens of thousands of people without power in Ontario and Quebec, though experts say the worst appears to be over.

Environment Canada says the massive weather system dwindled overnight and should continue to weaken as the day goes on, but the province is still in for some wet, windy weather.

Parts of Toronto are without electricity today and the outages have led to the closure of more than a dozen schools. Toronto Hydro says it expects “lengthy delays” in restoring power to some 45,000 customers.

A total of about 150,000 customers are without power throughout the province while Hydro Quebec was also reporting outages to about 50,000 customers.

The fierce weather has caused the cancellations of dozens of flights from Montreal’s Trudeau Airport to several American cities including New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Detroit and Chicago. Roughly a quarter of flights into and out of Toronto’s Pearson airport have also been cancelled, while downed trees and hydro wires have disrupted a handful of Toronto Transit Commission bus and streetcar routes.

Powerful winds are also being blamed for a death after a woman was struck and killed by a falling sign on a west-end Toronto street.