stock market gets back to business in a sign of normalcy in new york city. but there are new problems created by super storm sandy. good afternoon. >> first up today, gray skies over the eastern seaboard gave ato sunshine today, but the dark mood over parts of new york and new jersey persists. the death toll up to at least 50. more than 6 million homes, including 4 million in new york and new jersey, remain without power at this hour. president obama got a firsthand look at the damage today. >> the stock exchange running on generator power came back to life. the mayor gave a thumbs up and rang the opening bell to the sound of cheers. >> and more troubles. this is the scene in the coastal community of seaside heights, new jersey, where hundreds of homes were knocked off their foundations. >> and this is the scene near bayhead, new jersey, a community under water there and cut off as

the atlantic ocean merged with another waterway. homes, once million-dollar homes, now worthless. we get the latest from new jersey and jay gray. >> reporter: good evening. this is the kind of devastation that hundreds of thousands are working through right now, the start of what is sure to be a long and very difficult recovery. the images are overwhelming. the sheer scope of the disaster unimaginable. >> we're seeing this very common sight here up and down the coastline in our area. >> reporter: from the battered new jersey shore to flood waters that fill the streets of hoboken and further north to rhode island, where homes are splintered, were picked up and pushed to the middle of the street. president obama joined governor chris christie touring the devastation. an over welling look at what sandy left behind.

boats and kayaks now to belie s way to get around. many who lived through the storm still struggling to survive. >> we are wore yesterday. we don't have a place to live. we're staying with friends and family. but that only lasts so long. and we're running out of food and everything. >> reporter: in new york city, many subways are still under water. limited service could come back thursday. >> virtually all of them levelled to the ground. >> reporter: more than 100 homes swallowed by fire in breezy point, queens. millions beginning a difficult recovery and clinging tight to anything sandy left behind. and there are still so many just waiting for that opportunity right now. dozens of communities, including

the hardest hit here, are still on lockdown. i'm jay gray. now back to you. >> we're awaiting a press conference from the president at any moment. we'll bring that to you live. breaking news right now out of new york city, with more trouble caused by sandy. bellevue hospital is being evacuated because of flood damage. the fire department is on the scene helping transfer about 500 patients. the hospital overlooks the east river, which saw heavy flooding. about 17 million gallons of water poured into the basement there. this facility is near the new york university hospital that had to evacuate patients during the storm, as well. here, we've had a cold start to the day. but we did see some sun for some of the day any way. >> meteorologist veronica johnson has the latest from the storm center. >> that's right. i've been looking outside on our tower cam here. we've had a little bit of blue skies throughout the area today.

but take a look around the area, and we're currently at 52 degrees now in loudoun county. lees during, 53 right now in d.c. and temperatures will climb another degree or two over the next hour or so, but that is it. again, just a little bit of blue skies. you had to look hard to see it. on radar right now, a little bit of blue skies there south around fredericksburg. but again, temperatures have been on the chilly side today. and for you trick or treaters going out -- i'm going to take it back one, because our temperatures for the time of trick or treating, we will be in the 50s, falling to the 40s here between 5:00 and 7:00 p.m. all right. let's go ahead one more advance and then i'll give you also an hour by hour forecast for the evening. there we go. 51 by 7:00. dropping to 50 by 8:00. 49 degrees by 9:00.

under a mostly cloudy sky, coming up later. we'll talk about what you can expect for the rest of the week and the weekend. these all in just a few. power companies reminding trick or treaters and parents to be careful tonight and watch for downed tree limbs and power. power is back on for most customers in our region, but still a lot of work to do. dominion virginia hopes to have its last 11,000 customers back online tomorrow night. for bg&e, the number is down to 16,000 in our area. nearly all of pepco's customers have power and novec is making progress, as well. melissa spoke to some neighbors in northern virginia still without power and went to alexandria where flooding could be an issue again tonight. >> reporter: predictions are the flooding in oldtown alexandria will get worse, peaking sometime thursday. this store at the corner of union and king, was a message

for sandy. as everyone watches and waits for the rising water. >> i feel stoorry for the store owners. >> reporter: ten miles away off of glebe road, many are worried about this mess. wires and yards and some even on this car. >> we had a crew show up from the cable company and said they had never seen anything as bad as the chain reaction as hit the poles in this neighborhood and advised us to stay inside, because we had power lines everywhere. >> reporter: the family that lives here in this home in mcclain was inside when they say they heard this pole come crashing down. take a look at the lines, they stretch up to another pole that ripped that pole over to its side. and you can see another tree came down bending a pole as well down there. >> it's been frustrating and

surprising, because we're used to power outages here, but we've never had this kind of situation where there's power lines across my yard. they're lying across the front and side of my yard. >> reporter: it's been a day and a half of calls to utility, cable and phone companies. dominion crews on scene this morning to clean this up, remove the trees, right the poles, string the lines. >> it was a really bad storm. been without power a day and a half. sorry to be without power, it's hard. >> reporter: in oldtown, the sand bag and plastic tarps remain. all eyes on the potomac. >> i thought they were going to take them down, i didn't realize they were still going to get hit. >> reporter: back to you. >> despite shutting down refineries in the east, prices at the pump are expected to fall. oil analysts say with so many

roads left impassable, there isn't as much demand. the national average is $3.53 for a gallon of regular. that's down a penny from monday and down more than ten cents from last week. in the washington area, d.c. drivers are paying $3.70. maryland drivers, $3.56. and in virginia, you'll pay $3.38 a gallon. delights are taking off again after two days of cancellations. this is a live picture at reagan national and dulles airports. nationwide, airlines shut down 16,000 flights during the storm. with such a backlog, passengers are trying to relax until they can get a seat. one man has been there since his flight was canceled on sunday. >> not too much i can do really.

i'll try to get rest, but it's really uncomfortable. calling the airlines every day to see if i can get an earlier flight. >> other passengers tell us the travel disruptions are inconvenient but know the airlines can't change the weather. investigators are trying to figure out what happened after a teenager was struck and killed by a car while walking to school. it happened around 7:00 this morning at the enter section of german town road and wisteria drive. police tell us 15-year-old christina morris ward was hit while crossing germantown road. he was a sophomore at seneca valley. her mother spoke shortly after the tragic accident. >> i just want to -- i don't understand. that's my baby. that was my youngest child. we all are like -- it's unbelievable. i don't know -- i don't know what to feel right now.

i'm upset, but that's my baby. >> the driver of the car involved did stay on the scene. we'll have more in a live report coming up tonight at ak. -- 5:00. agents have released the name of the suspect they say is behind a series of people bomb attacks in northern virginia. today, police announced they are searching for 25-year-old lawrence allen stewart ii. investigators believe he threw pipe bombs at three homes in stafford county and fredericksburg yesterday. the houses belonged to a sheriff's deputy. the suspect's girlfriend and another law enforcement officer. no one was hurt in any of the attacks. police say they believe stewart is armed and very dangerous. news4 at 4:00 just getting started. a family of five is rescued from a flooding home by helicopter. the political fallout for a congressional campaign manager involved in a hurricane hoax. a community used to tragedy, devastated once again by floods

and fires. news4 at 4:00

new york city blogger who admitted to spreading lies on twitter during hurricane sandy has resigned from his role on a congressional campaign. he writes on the twitter under the handle as comfortably smug. he created several rumors, including reports that the new york stock exchange was under three feet of water and power would be shut down to all of manhattan. he apologized and resigned as campaign manager for congressional candidate christopher white. early voting is under way again in maryland because of the storm, voting centers in the state were closed over the past two days. when they reopened this morning, hundreds lined up to cast ballots in landover. to make up for lost time, voting hours have been extended in

maryland, between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. tuesday through friday. early voting has also resumed in the district with extended hours. d.c. residents can vote until 9:00 p.m. this week. early voting ends on saturday and fairfax county extended hours for in person absentee voting. president obama put his campaign appearances on hold again today to tour areas of the new jersey coast ravaged by hurricane sandy. but the raise for the white house rolls on. mitt romney is spending the day in florida. a critical swing state. steve handelsman joins us with more on the campaign and what impacts sandy may have as this raise goes down to the wire. steve? >> reporter: when you're the president, what's better than to campaign without having to advertise or give a speech? and that's what the president is doing right now. political expert darrell watkins said the high praise that the

governor is giving president obama is worth more than any speech he ever gave for governor romney. president obama set out to survey hurricane damage in new jersey. six days before the election, still no campaigning. mitt romney campaigned in tampa. sympathizing with the victims of sandy. >> the kind of trauma you've experienced here in florida more than once, and it's interesting to see how people come together. >> reporter: he pivoted to the election. >> now people coming together is also what is going to happen on november 7. >> reporter: the raice in floria is closer. but in ohio, it's still a five-point obama advantage in the most important state. and in new jersey, the president got a boost that could help him in all the swing states. a warm greeting and more praise for the federal storm response from republican governor chris christie, who has campaigned all

year for mitt romney against barack obama until the hurricane. >> the message that he's sending voters is obama is doing a good job. he's not a scary socialist personal and can be trusted. >> reporter: better than any speech or tv ad, to lead in a crisis and have political opponents offer praise. but that sword is double edged. and if fema stumbles badly, the blowback is sure to hurt the president who right now is on the jersey shore with chris christie and he's speaking. let's go to him now. jim, back to you. pat? >> we are waiting that news conference and we will bring that to you, as soon as it happens. it's a statement from the president after an afternoon of touring there in new jersey. turning now to the weather in our area, which turned much nicer today. >> much nicer but chilly. a sweater for you. i've had the jacket on since i've been in and out today. but for the trick or treaters,

at least it's going to be quiet. a lot of neighborhoods, some are, some aren't having the trick or treating. it's been overcast. we've had a little bit of blue skies from time to time. there are those gray low-hanging clouds. it's 53 degrees. so we were hard pressed to see the temperatures climb today. as far as the wind, it is out of the southwest right now. it's 7 miles per hour. a little bit of a breeze blowing. and more of a wind tomorrow and that wind will be coming out of the northwest. throughout the area, even some forts to the north and west. hagerstown at 47. winchester at 48. generally, low and mid 50s throughout the area, with clouds ruling throughout the day today. a little bit of precip rotating through around pittsburgh.

but the snow has finally made its way kind of out of here now, kind of quiet now for the high spots out west. on the radar, just a few sprinkles there, a little snow trying to hang on west of frostburg, maryland. this is savage river lodge. this is in garrett county, that far western side of maryland that i just pointed to where they had two feet of heavy snow. it's like one inch of liquid for five inches of snow. it's like cement and it's hard snow to shovel. it's a stressful snow to shovel and because of how weighty it is, that's why they've had so many power outages out there in western maryland. our forecast, we hold on to the clouds for 9:00, 10:00, 11:00 p.m. 47 at 11:00 p.m. chilly conditions for the morning, if not cold as we'll be starting out in the upper 30s to low 40s throughout the area.

sun up tomorrow at 7:36. here's what's going on. we have the lingering effects of sandy, finally fading more and more over the next few days. tomorrow, still a mostly cloudy sky. friday, a little more sunshine, partly cloudy sky, more clouds to the north and more sun down to the south. evening forecast for the bats flying. mostly cloudy, breezy, school, 45 to 50 degrees. for tomorrow morning, partly cloudy, still a chilly start for us. tomorrow afternoon, 50 to 56 degrees. we're back to standard time on sunday and it's through the weekend where we get the sunshine back into our area. we'll look at your extended forecast. and coming up at 4:45, meteorologist doug cameron and myself will look at what role climate change may have played with sandy. coming up, we're waiting for

comments from the president who is in new jersey. he's been touring the state, looking at some of the damage. at this hour, he's in bringenting. >> it looks as though he's talking to residents. you can see the president there with governor chris christie and he's meeting people at that shelter today. he's spent the entire afternoon with the governor there. a republican who has been a big supporter of mitt romney and this should believe, as steve handlesman was reporting, a game changer in the election to some, seeing them side by side, the governor greeting him as he got off the helicopter today, touring some of the hardest hit areas there in new jersey. again, these are live pictures from bringenteen, new jersey, outside a community shelter there. we understand he will be making some remarks, a statement. don't know whether he will be answering any questions. it is not billed as a press conference, however. just a few remarks from president obama.

again, these live pictures, as we say, near atlantic city in the community of bringenteen. >> and the president is expected to return to the campaign trail tomorrow, but today he's focused on hurricane damag [ earnest ] out of the blue one day, we were told to build a 30-foot stage. gathered the guys and we built that 30-foot stage, not knowing what it was for. just days later, all three shifts were told to assemble in the warehouse. a group of people walked out on that stage and told us that the plant is now closed and all of you are fired... i looked both ways, i looked at the crowd, and...we all just lost our jobs. we don't have an income. mitt romney made over 100 million dollars by shutting down our plant and devastated our lives.

turns out that when we built that stage, it was like building my own coffin, and it just made me sick. [ male announcer ] priorities usa action is responsible for the content of this advertising.

live pictures right now again from briggenteen, new jersey. president obama is greeting residents at a community center there in new jersey. he's alongside new jersey governor chris christie. you can see them both together as they make their way toward cameras a bit later on. the president will be making some remarks about some of the damage he's seen on a tour with the governor there. we'll bring that to you live when it happens. a helicopter rescue caught on tape. a new york police department crew pulled five adults and one child from flooded homes in staten island today. they say many people in the area tried to ride out the storm,

despite being told to evacuate. streets in that neighborhood are completely flooded. helicopter 23, as it's called, plucked the group from the roof of a house. that helicopter's name after the 23 city police officers killed on 9/11. some of the aftermath of sandy still lingers in new york city. monday afternoon, a crane bent like tinfoil, this morning nbc news reports the crane's owner and operator, pinnacle industries, has been fined for safety concerns at the very site several times before. most recently back in august. one crane accident expert believes this is the result of human error. >> it was at a high boom angle. they know it can be blown over. >> it's conceivable that nobody did anything wrong whatsoever and it was just a strange gust of wind. >> the mayor says he believes

the building is secure, it's just the crane that appears to be unsafe. no one is allowed within four blocks of that crane in case it were to brake off and fall. still to come, we're awaiting live remarks from the president who is touring the storm damage on the jersey shore, visiting a shelter, shaking hands and touring with the governor. we'll bring that to you as soon as it happens.

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and now, this is news4 at 4:00. welcome back to news4 at 4:00. >> back to new jersey and some live pictures as president obama walks through some damaged areas in that state with new jersey governor chris christie. he's just left a shelter there. a community center, meeting

residents. there they are, side by side as they have toured some damage sites near brigenteen, new jersey. the president will be making remarks shortly and we'll bring that to you live. one of his priorities is getting power back on to communities on the shoreline there. >> a lot of folks are without it. as flood waters recede and relief efforts get under way, we're getting a closer look at the neighborhoods and the people most impacted by the storm. >> among them, nbc's matt lauer tells us about one new york community that's already seen more than its fair share of tragedy. >> reporter: it is an indelible image. in the end, more than 100 homes destroyed in breezy point. and just down the coast, the same devastation.

>> flames broke out here at the height of sandy. because the water was so deep here, firefighters couldn't get in to put them out. so the wind whipped the flames from building to building. one of the reasons the owner of that restaurant lost his son during the attacks of 9/11, and when i got out of the car here a short time ago, i had an immediate feeling of deja vu. back on november 12, 2001, american airlines flight 587 took off from john f. kennedy airport, a short distance from here. it wasn't airborne very strong and it came straight down, nose first and crashed where that gray house is right now, 260 people on board died. >> matt lauer in belleharbour screens, where flight 587 crashed about two hours ago into a group of houses. the destruction devastating. >> reporter: it's a neighborhood

that's been asked to bear more than it should have to. rockaway lost 59 people on 9/11. flight 587 crashed here soon after. and now almost every block, homes destroyed and along with them, a lifetime of memories. the owners of this house barely survived. they fled their home at 6:00 monday night. it broke apart soon after. david finds himself searching for priceless keepsakes. >> it's my childhood home and it's basically gone. the water ripped through here last night and this morning and utter devastation. >> reporter: what would you like to find for your parent's sake? >> i would like to find some photographs, i would like to find some things from my grandparents that my parents have. >> reporter: back to that harbor like pub that burned down on the corner. it was owned by bernie, who lost his son on 9/11.

he spoke to us after the crash of flight 587. >> it was not an "i" day, it was a "we" day. everybody helped. this community will be together forever. >> reporter: his words spoken in a different time, echoing and being tested today in a neighborhood that has answered the call before. >> to more devastation in new jersey where the president has been taking it all in all afternoon first hand. he's about to make some remarks. he's been touring as you see there with new jersey governor chris christie all afternoon. he's just left a community center, a shelter, and is meeting residents there as he is, again, taking in these damaged sites this afternoon. >> visiting the jersey shoreline, which was inundated by the impact of sandy. many people still without power

and their lives shattered after the destruction this storm left in its wake. the president said the main priority is to get the power back on. many people are still in the dark. millions in the new york and new jersey areas are in the dark without electricity. some expecting to be without power for perhaps up to a week. the president is there meeting with people, letting them talk to him directly about how they're feeling, how it's impacting them. as we said, meeting with residents of a shelter there in the town of brigenteen. here you can see next to this picture of the president, some of the devastation, just some of it that has taken the residents of new jersey by surprise. governor christie and the president have been in contact by phone for the past few days. the president has talked about talking to various governors along the east coast. he's going to be making some remarks, some comments about what he has seen this afternoon

and what his goals are. number one priority is to turn the power back on. that's an immediate priority for fema and the white house. he's there, also with new jersey's u.s. senators taking that tour again at a community center in brigenteen, new jersey. they're making their way towards the cameras and microphones. but many of them are volunteers in this area after he met with some shelter residents. >> and the governor of new jersey has take an lot of heat for the praise he's heaped on the president for the day the white house and the federal response has been during this very devastating time. the president has had to take a break from the campaign trail, expected to resume campaigning tomorrow. mitt romney is also -- has already resumed his campaign, is resuming it. but right now, the president's focus is on the problems that these residents in new jersey

are having and the job, the challenge of getting their lives, their homes back together and to help them recover from what has been total devastation for so many. >> he saw this first by air aboard the helicopter that was touring around. so he got this bird's-eye view that we've been showing over the past two days now of the devastation. this is what he's seen, but even more. the amusement park, what's left of it there, also damage to homes, cars, sand that has really filled up over streets and home there is on the shoreline. we're again waiting to hear from the president and we will bring that to you live as soon as it happens. he's talking to resident there is and people who took shelter in this community center will have his remarks right after this break. so stay with us.

>> we want to make sure people have clean drinking water, hospitals are taken care of the way they need to and we get kids back to school. so i discussed all those issues today with the president and i'm pleased to report that he has sprung into action immediately to help get us those things while we were in the car riding together. i want to thank him for that. he's worked closely with me since before the storm hit. i think this is our sixth conversation since the weekend. and it's been a great working relationship to make sure that we're doing the jobs that people elected us to do. i cannot thank the president enough for his personal concern

and compassion for our state and the people of our state. i was able to witness it today personally. and so we're going to continue to work. state government is here. we're coordinating with fema and i want to thank you, mr. fewgate for being here. and we will move on from here. what i said yesterday i really mean. there's got to be sorrow, and you see that and the president has seen that today in the faces of a lot of the folks he's met. that sorrow is appropriate. we've suffered some loss. luckily, we haven't suffered that much loss of life, and we thank god for that. but this is the worst form that i've seen in my lifetime in the state. but we cannot permit that sorrow to replace the resilience that i know all the people of new jersey have. so we'll get up and rebuild and put things back together because

that's what this state is about. i met a bunch of you today who disregarded my admonition to get the hell out of here, you are forgiven this time. you look to your right or left to your husband or wife, son or daughter, those are the things that can't be replaced. so i want to thank you for being here today, and it's my honor to introduce to you all the president of the united states. [ applause ] >> thank you, everybody. let me just make sure that i acknowledge the folks who are here, because they've played an important role in this. first of all, your congressional delegations, senator bon

menendez, county executive dennis levinston, and others. obviously, this is a federal, state and local effort. the first thing i want to do is to thank reverybody that's been involved in the entire rescue and recovery process. at the top of my list, i have to say that governor christie, throughout this process, has been responsive and aggressive in making sure that the state got out in front of this incredible storm. and i think the people of new jersey recognized he's put his heart and soul into making sure the people of new jersey bounce back stronger than before. so i want to thank him for his leadership and partnership. i want to thank the congressional delegation, because part of the reason we're going to be able to respond quickly to all this is because they helped to make sure that

fema financing was in place. and we're very appreciative of those efforts. i want to thank craig fugate. sometimes people just think fema and don't think about the people behind it. but craig lives and breathes this stuff, making sure we're providing the help people so desperately need. i want to thank all the first responders who have been involved in this process. the linesmen, the firefighters, the folks who are in here shuttling out people who were supposed to get the hell out and didn't, you've helped to save a lot of lives and property. one of the things that you learn in these tragedies is the first responders, keep in mind their homes are usually under water or their families have been affected in some way. yet they make those personal sacrifices to help others.

i'm just going to make a couple of comments. number one, and most importantly, our hearts go out to the families that have lost loved ones. it's true that the loss of life was kept lower than it might have been, but for those individual families, obviously their world has been torn apart. we need to make sure that everybody who has lost a loved one knows they're in our thoughts and prayers. i speak for the whole country there. for those like the people i just had the chance to meet on this block and throughout new jersey, throughout the region, whose lives have been up ended, my second message is we are here for you. we will not forget, we will follow up to make sure that you get all the help that you need until you've rebuilt. at this point, our main focus is

on the states of new jersey, which got hit harder than anybody. the state of new york, particularly lower manhattan and long island. we're very concerned about some situations in connecticut as well, and we're still monitoring west virginia, where there are heavy snows in some inaccessible areas. for the most part, those four states are really bearing the brunt of this incredible storm. what we've been able to do is preposition and stage commodities, water, power generators, ambulances in some cases, food, medical supplies, emergency supplies, and we have over 2,000 fema personnel that are on the ground right now. their job, now that we're moving out of the search and rescue phase, is to make sure that we are going out and talking to

individual communities so that people know exactly how they can get the help they need. we expedited our emergency declarations for the state of new jersey and local counties that have been affected. that means people can immediately start registering for emergency assistance. one of the things i want to emphasize to the people in new jersey and throughout the region, now that you're safe, your family is safe, but you're trying to figure out where you're going to stay for the next couple of days, et cetera, it's very important that you know that there is help available to you right now. for example, to find rental housing or to be able to play for groceries. over at the community center, we saw a woman who had a newborn, or 8-month-old i guess, that still needs diapers and formula.

those are the basic things that we can provide. if you call 800-621-fema, or disasterassistance.gov, if you have access to the internet. that allows you to register right now so that you can immediately start receiving help. we want to make sure that you get everything that you need. just a couple of final points. obviously our biggest priority right now is getting power turned back on. >> there you have it. president obama, his message to those suffering in new jersey, we are here for you. >> the president thanked first responders and praised the officials in new jersey and fema and the federal and local folks who have been helping to get things to the people who need them, expediting supplies to people hard hit in four states, new jersey one of the big ones. >> we'll be right back right after this short break.

welcome back to news4 at 4:00. a gray sky across the area and a sprinkle up to the north. there's the live camera looking at the woodrow wilson bridge. clouds hanging low right now. our temperatures have been in the 40s, upper forts to low 50s. sunset 6:08. here's a look at your trick or treat forecast. chilly conditions at 5:00 p.m. creepy chilly at 50 and creepier by 9:00. 48 degrees, the temperature with a mostly cloudy sky expected here for the evening. and for the early part of the night. so when the kids go out, just make sure they've got on a bright color and they're going to need a warm jacket or a light coat over that halloween costume. chilly conditions, starting out in the upper 30s to low 40s. 42 at 5:00 a.m. and 41, we take a dip before rising again.

at 7:00 a.m., run size at 7:36. we still have sandy fading up to the north and still the continuation of the cloud cover around our area, just like today. tomorrow, we might have a few breaks in that cloud cover, with a little bit of blue sky coming to us. as we get into friday, i think even more sunshine coming our way, a part ly sunny day for friday. tomorrow's forecast, 50 to 56 degrees with showers, cloudy and cool. your four-day forecast, 54 degrees on friday right now. saturday at 56. 55 for sunday. we end daylight saving time and go to standard time sunday at 2:00 a.m. don't forget about that right now. still a lot of folks talking about sandy. >> we'll be right back.

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more than 200 patients had to be evacuated from a new york hospital after losing power and the backup generator failing in the wake of sandy. among them, a mother about to give birth.

>> this is marcus. he was born 12:42 a.m. >> reporter: almost five hours after hurricane sandy hit land, micah marcus was born. but it was a labor of love bringing him into the world. >> it was more crazy than we could imagine. >> reporter: julia was having contractions at new york university's lango medical center when the power went out. and the backup generator failed. her husband was getting something to eat. >> i walked into the cafeteria and a full-on blockout. reporter: he couldn't see the storm, but he could hear it. >> the hurricane was battering the hospital. i heard this crazy washing of water. it was coming into the hospital, the basement was flooded. >> reporter: back in the delivery room, julia was having powerful contractions. >> they were like 30 seconds

apart. >> at that point, i was like this is insane. this couldn't get any worse. >> reporter: he stepped in and helped doctors give his wife an epidural in the dark. >> i was holding a cell phone above her while they were putting in the iv and epidural. they then took her off the bed, and proceeded to slide her really slowly down eight flights of stairs. there was lots of screaming going on. six people with newborns with oxygen tanks and other medical attachments to this baby to get by us to get down more quickly. >> reporter: after 20 minutes, they reached the ground floor and rushed to mt. sinai hospital. but the roads were dangerous. >> as we're driving up 3rd

avenue, i hear a loud bang on top of a ambulance. we found out a tree branch had fallen on the ambulance. >> reporter: within minutes of arriving at the hospital, micah was born. >> i've never been in so much pain throughout all of these hours. as soon as he was born, you know, you just forget. >> a little bright spo in the midst of a lot of tragedy. up next, the cleanup continues from super storm sandy. news4 at 5:00 starts right now. another emergency in the new york city area, as hundreds of patients at bellevue hospital are evacuated. the power is coming back on for most of our area as crews remove trees and downed powerlines. >> a mother's heartache today after her daughter was killed on her way to high school. >> i'm just saying that's my

baby, that was my youngest child. we all are like, it's unbelievable. >> good evening, everyone. welcome to news4 at 5:00. wendy will be joining me in a moment. most people that lost power in our area have it back on tonight. but some outages linger, especially in northern virginia. utility crews have been working long hours to keep trees and power lines clear. but with trick or treaters ready to go, there are still some dangerous spots. >> reporter: jim, this is one of those neighborhoods that will be crawling with kids in about an hour. and for kids going trick or treating, hallelujah, right? but the grownups have been dealing with downed trees and power lines, particularly here in alexandria. and it has been a bit of a fright trying to get ready for halloween.