Sandy aftermath: Lights back up in New York, but fuel rationed

NDTV via AFP: The lights finally came back on in Manhattan on Saturday, but a severe shortage of gasoline continued to hamper efforts to get the New York area back on its feet after Hurricane Sandy. Power was restored to nearly all of Manhattan after flooding plunged the lower half of New York's most densely populated borough into darkness.

"By and large there is enough light and activity certainly to get a lot of people out into the street and get rid of that movie set look, as if we're in some sort of ghost town or horror movie," Bob McGee, a spokesman for utility company Con Edison, told NY1 television.

Crews were working to restore supplies both to schools that reopen on Monday and for polling places to be used in Tuesday's presidential election. Much of the rest of New York, however, continued to experience widespread power outages that could last for as long as another week.

As New Jersey police raised the state's death toll to 22, increasing the overall US total to at least 103, the biggest hurdle to recovery continued to be a severe lack of gasoline. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie announced rationing of fuel to curtail the long lines and growing frustration outside gas stations.

Starting Saturday, drivers with license plates ending in an even number will be allowed to fill up on even-numbered dates and those with number plates ending in odd numbers plates on odd-number dates....

The Hugh L. Carey Tunnel (formerly known as the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel) on Oct. 30, 2012.  Photo: Metropolitan Transportation Authority / Patrick Cashin, Wikimedia Commons via Flickr, under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license