sandy's wake. the superstorm leaves behind a trail of destruction, killing people, destroying communities and plunging millions into darkness. >> our thoughts and prayers go out to all the families who lost loved ones. >> never thought i would see what i saw today ever. >> and the storm keeps churning while the worst may be over for the east coast, sandy delivers wind, rain and snow to inland areas. it was a surprise. we thought it was just going to rain. >> and thoughts turn to cleaning up after the historic storm. the true power of sandy comes into focus. >> oh, my god. this is the "cbs morning news" for wednesday, october 31, 2012.

good morning. good to be with you. i'm terrell brown. the devastation from superstorm sandy has millions along the east coast wondering when and if their lives will return to normal. >> president obama travels to new jersey to see the destruction firsthand. the mega storm killed 51 people many by falling trees. at one point 8.5 million homes and businesses in 17 states were without power. more than 18,100 flights have been cancelled since the weekend. it will take days before travel returns to normal. estimated property losses is estimated at $20 billion making the storm one of the most expensive disasters in u.s. history. sandy could cost another 10 to 30 billion dollars in lost business. sandy made its impact late monday night and early tuesday morning so when the sun came up

yesterday we got a picture of the devastation it left behind. the eastern coastline may never look the same. sandy literally brought the ocean to the door steps of beach front homes. in new jersey a roller coaster enjoyed by generations of beach goers now sits in the atlantic ocean. the record storm surge tossed a boat on the train tracks, but with rail service suspended no trains were in danger of hitting. the storm ranged from north carolina, where a coastal road washed away to inland areas which saw blizzard conditions. northward to maine where massive waves crashed ashore. to the midwest where the storm stirred up the great lakes. here in new york travel within the city was made difficult. subways flooded and a fleet of taxicabs was left under water. the hurricane force winds fueled a fire that decimated a community that left many to wonder what to do next. this morning much of lower manhattan remains in darkness. >> lower manhattan is where we

find anise. >> reporter: good morning. new york is trying to regain a sense of normalcy after hurricane sandy. the top priority for officials is trying to restore power and mass transit. the storm has moved away from the shore but the devastation left behind is obvious. homes buried or destroyed. boats tossed ashore. >> very difficult. >> reporter: the national guard spent the day rescuing stranded residents in moonachie and little ferry, new jersey. a tidal surge pushed five feet of water into the town in just minutes. >> we're waiting for rescue. >> reporter: president obama will tour the devastation in new jersey today. >> the most important message i have for them is that america is waiting. >> reporter: it could take days or weeks to restore power to the 8 million people who lost electricity.

in new york some subway lines and tunnels are flooded. officials say it could be days before the trains are running again. signs of life are returning not far away from me the new york stock exchange will be back up and running this morning. traders say it's important to show the world that new york is open for business. >> we have a plan for recovery. and that recovery is already beginning. >> reporter: flight operations will resume at jfk and new york airports but laguardia was badly damaged and will remain closed. for some the recovery will take months, possibly even years. a fire destroyed more than 80 homes in this queens neighborhood. >> flames were 60 feet up in the air. whole family lost everything. >> reporter: unanimously the people in breezy point say they will rebuild. and another concern, cellular service is spotty. making it that more difficult for many.

>> thank you. sandy's strong winds caused a big tourist attraction here in new york. it collapsed this crane sailing 70 floors over midtown. the crane is stable at this time and could hang there for weeks. according to the "new york post" they are trying to figure out how to bring it down safely. >> sandy may have left the east coast but still causing damage in the midwest. the storm is getting weaker over pennsylvania. about 50 miles outside of pittsburgh with sustained winds of 40 miles per hour. david bernard, chief meteorologist from our miami station cbs 4 is tracking the superstorm. >> reporter: sandy continues to wreak havoc across parts of the country. it's a very large storm. looking at the satellite picture showing is circulation west of chicago and east of new york out into portions of the atlantic. as far as chicago we've seen huge waves over lake michigan in the last 24 hours. some of that will continue before it eventually begins to

wind down. looking ahead over the appalachians, that's the biggest effect, a blizzard is ongoing across west virginia, the circulation around sandy is running up against those mountains, enhancing the snows and we're going to see some enormous snow totals. by the time it's all said and done three feet in the higher elevations in west virginia with snow as far south as the mountains of tennessee, north carolina and western portions of virginia. for cbs 4 news i'm david bernard in miami. >> here's some of the waves david was talking about, pushing a near record high of 20 feet. the record high for lake michigan is 23 feet. the high waves brought a cargo shipping to a standstill on the great lakes but as anna warner shows us deep snow is crippling west virginia. >> reporter: for the second day elkins is paralyzed under a heavy blanket of snow. no power means most of the city

is shut down. almost no food and no fuel. what seems to be the trouble here today? >> well, the blizzard hit us. and i guess we weren't really prepared for it. >> reporter: todd's gas station has gas but without power there's no way to pump it. >> we're staying on top of gasoline but can't get it out of there. there's about 6,000 or 8,000 gallons but nothing we can do. can't get it out. >> reporter: power lines sagged under the weight of wet heavy snow threatening to snap. roads are slushy and snow covered and only a few people ventured out. police chief rob white tried to keep up with requests for help. >> i've got a lot of my officers who can't get out here. some of the roads just are not plowed and there's trees down so we're having to work overtime to cover the shifts. >> what are you dealing with weather wise? >> heavy snow. power lines down. trees down. vehicles are stranded here and there. so we got our work cut out for us today. >> reporter: residents too. lauri needed to get something

essential out of her car buried under a foot of snow. >> so you had to break into the car to get the shovel out, the scraper out. have you ever seen it like this? >> never. really. >> what's so different about this one? >> it just is wet and it's coming down. >> reporter: the forecast for elkins predicts there will be more. chance of snow 100%. anna warner, cbs news, elkins, west virginia. >> gas prices are lower after the storm. the six refineries on the east coast were shut down. the national average for gas $3.53. 11 cents lower than a week ago. that's partly because of reduced demand by storm victims in the east. all the refineries are up and running except two in new jersey. coming up on the morning news, campaign detours. presidential candidates cancel rallies.

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oh, my god. oh, my god. >> these trees were no match for sandy on new york's long island as the storm began battering the region on monday and 220 miles away in huntington a team recorded this video. the soft ground couldn't support the tree against sandy's wind which slowly uprooted and then tipped over in his backyard. a lot of downed trees. at this time next week we should know who the president, the next president of the united states will be for the next four years. we should. key word. less than a week now before election day and cbs news "new york times" poll shows president obama maintaining a five point edge in ohio but in the swing states of florida and virginia his lead is shrinking.

the race is a dead heat. mitt romney and president obama locked in a statistical tie. sandy up ended the race. >> president obama was knocked off the campaign trail by the storm, cancelling an appearance today in the critical swing state of ohio. on tuesday he visited the red cross headquarters in washington. >> my message to the federal government, no bureaucracy, no red tape, get resources where they are needed as fast as possible as hard as possible and for the duration. >> the president was replaced on the stump by a former commander-in-chief bill clinton. >> obama is far more likely to lift the middle class and give the poor a chance to work their way into it. >> president clinton appeared at a rally in minnesota. recent polls showed president obama's lead is shrinking. clinton made a stop in colorado another state that candidates are fighting hard to win. >> and your generosity this morning touches my heart. >> mitt romney took a break from campaigning.

he cancelled rallies in ohio and iowa instead holding a disaster relief event near dayton. >> we won't be able to solve all the problems with our effort this morning but a lot of people will still be looking for goods even though we gathered these things. but i know that one of the things i've learned in life is that you make the difference you can. and you can't always solve all the problems yourself but you can make the difference in the life of one or two people. >> romney resumes his campaign today with events in florida and virginia. his challenge is maintaining a public presence while his opponent has the power of the presidency behind him. president obama's response earned praise from one of mitt romney's strongest supporter's new jersey governor chris christie. the white house is hoping the president can return to the campaign trail by tomorrow. up next, we'll have your wednesday morning weather and we'll take you inside that desperate hospital evacuation in new york city in the wake of hurricane sandy. evacuation in new york city in the wake of hurricane sandy. keurig makes brewing

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but wind from sandy will be felt in many areas. expect rain in northwest california to western washington. while the rest of the west remains warm and dry. as hurricane sandy battered the region and the power began going out in new york city, back up generators at one hospital failed. dr. jon lapook was there as personnel raced against time to save the sick. >> reporter: the dark halls of nyu medical center led to halls submerged under 12 feet of water. >> looks like a swimming pool. >> reporter: dr. robert grossman is the ceo of the hospital. >> we had failure of our primary power, secondary power, back up systems failed within 30 minutes. so we went from functioning perfectly to being completely out of power. >> reporter: it quickly became a race against time to evacuate 300 patients including 20 newborns from the neonatal intensive care unit.

when i arrived shortly before midnight, ambulances were lined up waiting to transport patients to nearby hospitals. the doctor demonstrated how hospital personnel used plastic sleds to transport patients down dark narrow staircases. >> one, make sure that they got off of the floor. the other was who was the sickest? who could go down first. >> reporter: 31-year-old christine was in the intensive care unit with complications following her 2008 liver transplant. she was taken down 14 floors on a sled. >> the great thing about is it they kept asking me are you okay. >> reporter: she was transferred to mount sinai medical center and is resting comfortably. >> is this the worst case scenario? >> hard to imagine worst case. worst case would be if we lost a patient. that would have been the worst case. >> reporter: everybody got out safely thanks to an extraordinary team effort on a day when everything else went

wrong. dr. jon lapook, cbs news, new york. >> when we come back another look at this morning's top stories and disney buys a stake in a galaxy far, far away with a promise of new episodes in the "star wars" franchise. [ male announcer ] now at subway. get a free 6-inch sub of your choice when you buy any 6-inch sub and any drink before 9am. that's right! buy any 6-inch subway sub and any drink before 9am to get your free 6-inch sub. october only, so hurry in! [ male announcer ] why do more emergency workers everywhere trust duracell...?? duralock power preserve.

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,, here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country. in d.c., morning showers, 57 degrees. partly sunny in atlanta, 61. partly sunny in st. louis, 59 degrees. mostly sunny in denver, 72 and rain. in seattle, 57 degrees. top stories now on a wednesday. superstorm sandy killed 51 people many from falling trees. more than 8 million homes and businesses are without power and the new york stock exchange

reopens today after being shut down by the storm for two days. president obama will take the day off from campaigning and view the destruction in new jersey today. mitt romney is back on the stump. he's in florida and virginia. investigators are trying to figure what sickened 200 people near an industrial complex in new mexico. the release of an unknown hazardous material forced evacuations. victims described a burning sensation on their skin. initial tests did not reveal anything in the air. a yacht order by the late steve jobs was finally launched this week a little more than a year after the apple founder's death. the french designer who built the yacht revealed on tuesday it launched the ship near amsterdam. the vessel follows job's design request. >> disney owns "star wars."

revealed plans for more "star wars" films. they paid $4 million giving control of "star wars" and indiana jones franchise. >> the "star wars" universe has more than 17,000 characters inhabiting several thousand planets and spanning 20,000 years. this gives disney infinite inspiration and opportunities to continue the epic "star wars" saga. >> which means it ain't over. disney expects to release "star wars" episode 7. followed by episodes 8 and 9. they will have theme parks, attractions and tv shows. the miami heat kicks off the nba opener. they got their rings. lebron james collected his first. get over it, no need to hate him any more, it's a new season. banner was raised in the arena. later the heat went on to beat the boston celtics 120-107.

i'm terrell brown, this is the morning news. i'm terrell brown, this is the morning news. ,,,,,,,,

here in new york there are countless unforgettable images of the destruction caused by hurricane sandy, among them the rushing sea water flooding downtown manhattan's ground zero. the disaster from sandy is drawing comparisons to the aftermath of 9/11. scott pelley spoke with ray kelly about that and the continuing recovery effort. >> reporter: commissioner kelly is running the police department response from a command center that pulls together the military and all government agencies. they built it after 9/11 for days like this. kelly told us the hurricane has brought the worst destruction to the city since the terrorist attack. his concerns now are public safety with nearly a million people in a blackout and continuing to search for survivors. how many people in new york city are without power? >> about three quarters of a million people.

about 150,000 people without power. >> what's the law enforcement and public safety concern with that? >> well, we're still in a rescue mode. certainly in staten island we know people are still stranded. so we're engaged in that along with the fire department. then we have a public safety security mission that we have to carry through. a lot of dark areas in the city. we know that we have to have a significant police presence in those locations. >> you had flown around the city in your helicopter today. what did you see? >> lots of devastation. lots of damage. and it means a tremendous amount of recovery work. but as i say we're still very much in a rescue mode. >> when you saw the sight of the breezy point fire you felt what? >> well, it looked like something i've never seen in new york city because of the number

of houses and the fact that they were all totally levelled. these houses totally gone. >> there's obviously no comparison in terms of loss of life but i wonder if there are aspects to this that are even more difficult than 9/11? >> well it's hard to compare. 9/11 was a horrific event. what we have here the devastation is spread out over a greater area. the worst thing that happened to this city certainly since 9/11. >> scott pelley reporting this morning. coming up after your local news on cbs this morning full coverage of the aftermath of hurricane sandy with live reports. plus live from the new york stock exchange as it opens today for the first time after being shut down for two days. and tips for homeowners on cleaning up after the storm. that and more a little later on cbs this morning. for now, though, that's the

morning news for this wednesday. as always appreciate you watching, i'm terrell brown in new york. take care, everybody. have a great day. take care, everybody. have a great day. where others fail, droid powers through.

introducing the new droid razr maxx hd by motorola. now more than ever droid does. it's wednesday, october 31s. happy halloween. i'm frank mallicoat. >> your realtime captioner: linda marie macdonald. good morning, everyone. it is wednesday, october 31. happy halloween. happy parade day. >> i know. >> hi, everybody, i'm frank mallicoat. >> i'm michelle griego. it's about 4:30. let's checaf