A grim routine set in yesterday as superstorm Sandy’s US victims struggled to adjust to gasoline lines, power outages and temporary housing while the death toll from the monster hurricane approached 100.
Many victims were electrocuted or drowned in flooded basements, while others died from poisoning from fumes given off by diesel generators used since the storm.
The bodies of two young boys who had been torn from their mother’s arms in the storm surge were recovered from a marsh in New York City’s Staten Island, where at least 19 people were killed — almost half of the city’s death toll — and some garbage-piled streets remained flooded.
Photo: Reuters
James Molinaro, the borough’s president, said the American Red Cross “is nowhere to be found.”
The island is the starting point of the New York City Marathon, the world’s largest, which the city has declared would start from Staten Island as usual tomorrow, though backlash against that decision grew.
“If they take one first responder from Staten Island to cover this marathon, I will scream,” New York City Councilman James Oddo said on his Twitter account. “We have people with no homes and no hope right now.”
New York’s subway lurched back to life with limited service on Thursday, offering some relief from the city’s gridlock, but east coast residents faced long lines at filling stations and lingering blackouts.
At least 92 people have been reported dead across the 15 states hit by Monday night’s unprecedented storm, including 40 in New York City, while some economists have estimated the disaster will cost up to US$50 billion.
More bodies are being found as police and firefighters continue “their lifesaving mission, going block-by-block and door-to-door in the areas devastated by the hurricane,” New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said on Thursday.
Bloomberg said the city would start handing out food and water, while National Guard officers and police would go into high-rise buildings to help the elderly.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source