Stripped of its bustle and mostly cut off from the world, New York was left wondering Tuesday when its particular way of life -- carried by subway, lit by skyline and powered by 24-hour deli -- would return.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the power company said it could be the weekend before the lights come on for hundreds of thousands of people plunged into darkness by what was once Hurricane Sandy.

Bloomberg said it could also be 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 New Yorkers under the East River were flooded.

In one bit of good news, officials announced that John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York and Newark International Airport in New Jersey will reopen at 7 a.m. Wednesday with limited service. New York's LaGuardia Airport remains closed.

Sandy killed 18 people in New York City, the mayor said. The dead included two who drowned in a home and one who was in bed when a tree fell on an apartment. A 23-year-old woman died after stepping into a puddle near a live electrical wire.

Channel 2's Tom Jones and news photographer Leonard Ragland were in Philadelphia when the storm hit and made their way to New York City to survey the damage.

Jones said they traveled along the New Jersey Turnpike and ran across a convoy of utility repair trucks heading to the storm ravaged region.

As they got closer they started seeing some of the damage left in the aftermath of Sandy. Jones reported the Holland tunnel was closed, making it difficult getting to New York City.

When they finally made their way into the city Jones said the power was out and emergency crews blew by them with sirens blaring at a steady pace.

One of the first places they found damage was at a Starbucks where the awning had blown completely off the store front. The rubble littered the sidewalk and street in front of the store.

The same thing also happened at the Aqua Grill.

Jones reported police officers had to direct traffic at many of the intersections because of the power outage.

Many of the business owners told Jones they were dealing with raw sewage that flowed into their businesses during the flooding from Sandy.

Jones also found crews were clearing away barricades from the Canal street subway station preparing to open it back up, now that water has receded out of much of the subway system.

Lower Manhattan, which includes Wall Street, was among the hardest-hit areas after the storm sent a nearly 14-foot surge of seawater, a record, coursing over its seawalls and highways.

Water cascaded into the gaping, unfinished construction pit at the World Trade Center, and the New York Stock Exchange was closed for a second day, the first time that has happened because of weather since the Blizzard of 1888. The NYSE said it will reopen on Wednesday.

A huge fire destroyed as many as 100 houses in a flooded beachfront neighborhood in Queens on Tuesday, forcing firefighters to undertake daring rescues. Three people were injured.

New York University's Tisch Hospital evacuated 200 patients after its backup generator failed. About 20 babies from the neonatal intensive care unit were carried down staircases and were given battery-powered respirators.

A construction crane that collapsed in the high winds on Monday still dangled precariously 74 floors above the streets of midtown Manhattan, and hundreds of people were evacuated as a precaution. And on Staten Island, a tanker ship wound up beached on the shore.

Jones reported he saw police officers on nearly every corner to help maintain order within New York City.

In New Jersey, Sandy cut off barrier islands and wrecked boardwalks up and down the coast, tearing away a section of Atlantic City's world-famous promenade. Atlantic City's 12 waterfront casinos came through largely unscathed.

Jersey City was closed to cars because traffic lights were out, and Hoboken, just over the Hudson River from Manhattan, was hit with major flooding.

A huge swell of water swept over the small New Jersey town of Moonachie, near the Hackensack River, and authorities struggled to rescue about 800 people, some living in a trailer park. And in neighboring Little Ferry, water suddenly started gushing out of storm drains overnight, submerging a road under 4 feet of water and swamping houses.

Police and fire officials used boats and trucks to reach the stranded.

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Disaster relief on its way north

A massive relief effort, coordinated out of an office complex in Alpharetta, is on the way to Superstorm Sandy victims in the Northeast.

The North American Mission Board Disaster Relief is an outreach program of Southern Baptist churches across the country.

From the headquarters near North Point Mall, staff and volunteers organize what has become the third-largest disaster relief organization in the U.S. Only the Red Cross and Salvation Army are bigger.

The Mission Board has activated its Operations Control Center in Alpharetta, deploying some of its 82,000 trained volunteers and moving semi-trucks full of equipment and supplies into the Northeast.

Mission Board Communications Director Mark Ebert expects dozens, if not hundreds, of volunteers from Georgia to be sent northward in the coming days.

"We have volunteers in 13 states that will be ready to go to bring in feeding units, roofing units, chainsaw units," Ebert said.

The Mission Board has staff members in D.C. coordinating efforts with FEMA and the American Red Cross.

Some Georgia-based staff and volunteers are already in Pennsylvania. They set up a regional incident command center in Harrisburg Tuesday, plotting where equipment and people should go.

"To our west we have teams working in West Virginia where massive snowfall has happened. To our east of this point along Maryland, Delaware, New York and New Jersey we have feeding and clean-up teams mobilizing," said Disaster Relief Executive Director Fritz Wilson.

Even before Sandy hit, this group knew the need would be great and scattered over a wide area.

The group sends trucks full of roofing materials, mobile kitchens and showers, and trailers packed with clean-up gear.

"This trailer has everything a volunteer group would need to first of all shovel out all the mud and silt and everything else that comes in when a home floods," Ebert said. "They need to have this happen before anything else can take place. So our volunteers come in and they can knock out several homes a day with a unit like this."

And cleaning up flooded homes could be one of the biggest needs from Sandy. Hundreds of homes have already flooded as the storm continues to move.

"As the storm clears, we will have volunteers from several states that will be going into the storm areas -- helping out victims," Ebert said.

To donate to the North American Mission Board Disaster Relief effort, click here.

Ga. National Guard readies for Sandy


Channel 2 Action News was there Tuesday as top commanders in the Georgia National Guard huddled about how they'll help storm victims.

The guard is getting readied for what role it may play on the front lines of storm relief.

Col. Brock Gaston told Channel 2's Mark Winne four Blackhawk Medevac choppers were waiting for final go.

"We can see people that would be stranded out on rooftops. We can also see potentially power lines that are down," Gaston said.

Winne was there as crews were making final maintenance checks on the helicopters.

Crews were testing rotors, motors and the hoist lines that may mean rescue for someone on a rooftop in New Jersey, New York or someplace else.

"It means the world to us. We did this mission in Iraq. And having been in that situation, saving people's lives and letting them know they can come back to their families it's the best part about this job," said Capt. Sellers with the National Guard.

Officials with the Guard said a U-72 Lakota is expected to leave Wednesday. A top commander told Winne two much bigger Georgia Guard Chinook helicopters have already left from Hunter Army Airfield as well.

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Sandy sends snow to N. Ga.


As Sandy makes its way through the north, its affects are also being felt in the north Georgia Mountains.

Channel 2's Craig Lucie has covered three counties in the last 24 hours, and found snow and wind gusts topping 50 miles per hour at times.

Tuesday morning he started in White County where a high wind warning was in effect.

Lucie also went to the highest natural point in Georgia, Brasstown Bald Mountain, where the elevation is 4,784 feet.

Winds blew snow flurries sideways and mountain visitors received some bad news when they reached the top.

"The observation deck is closed. It has been iced over for 2 days. We're concerned with the trees falling and limbs coming off. The water is frozen," said Frances Hughes who works in the mountain's welcome store.

Lucie and photographer, Levar James, said the drive to reach the highest elevation in Georgia wasn't easy.

The wind gusts nearly pushed the small satellite truck they were in off the road. Hiawassee residents said they experienced the same feeling on their way to work Tuesday morning.

"When it's windy, you gotta keep control of your car. Hold onto it," said Rex Walls.

His son said the winds kept him up Monday night.

"I never seen nothing like this before," explained Dylan Walls.

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