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Summary People in US East Coast corridor took first cautious steps to reclaim daily routines Wednesday.
Two major airports reopened and the floor of the New York Stock Exchange came back to life after being closed for two days, the first weather-related, two-day closure since the 19th century. Trading was scheduled to resume Wednesday morning with Mayor Michael Bloomberg ringing the opening bell.For the first time since the storm pummeled the Northeast, killing 55 people and doing billions of dollars in damage, brilliant sunshine washed over the nations largest city a striking sight after days of gray skies, rain and wind.It was clear that restoring the region to its ordinarily frenetic pace could take days and that rebuilding the hardest-hit communities and the transportation networks that link them together could take considerably longer.We will get through the days ahead by doing what we always do in tough times by standing together, shoulder to shoulder, ready to help a neighbor, comfort a stranger and get the city we love back on its feet, Bloomberg said.The scale of the challenge was clear across the Hudson River in New Jersey, where National Guard troops arrived in the heavily flooded city of Hoboken to help evacuate thousands still stuck in their homes.And new problems arose when firefighters were unable to reach blazes rekindled by natural gas leaks in the heavily hit shore town of Mantoloking.As New York began its second day after the megastorm, morning rush-hour traffic was heavy as people started returning to work. There was even a sign of normalcy: commuters waiting at bus stops.On the Brooklyn Bridge, closed earlier because of high winds, joggers and bikers made their way across the span before sunrise. One cyclist carried a flashlight. Car traffic on the bridge was busy, and slowed as it neared Manhattan.School was canceled for a third straight day Wednesday in the city, where many students rely on buses and subways to reach classrooms.President Barack Obama was planning to visit New Jersey on Wednesday to see the area near Atlantic City where the violent storm made landfall two days before. With the presidential election just six days away, Obama was cancelling campaign events for the third straight day to focus on coordinating the response to the superstorm. His Republican rival Mitt Romney planned to resume full-scale campaigning in Florida on Wednesday.Much of the initial recovery efforts focused on New York City, the regions economic heart. Bloomberg said it could take four or five days before the subway, which suffered the worst damage in its 108-year history, is running again.All 10 of the tunnels that carry commuters under the East River were flooded. High water prevented inspectors from immediately assessing damage to key equipment, raising the possibility that the nations largest city could endure an extended shutdown of the system that 5 million people count on to get to work and school each day.The chairman of the state agency that runs the subway, Joseph Lhota, said service might have to resume piecemeal, and experts said the cost of the repairs could be staggering.
