Coast Guard pollution responders assess damage to a pier near Coast Guard Aids to Navigation Team New York station in Bayonne, New Jersey, Friday. — Reuters NEW YORK — Four days after superstorm Sandy smashed into the US Northeast, rescuers Friday were still discovering the extent of the death and devastation in New York and the New Jersey shore, and anger mounted over gasoline shortages, power outages and waits for relief supplies. The total killed in one of the biggest storms to hit the United States jumped by a third on Thursday, to 98. In New York City, 40 people have been found dead, half of them in Staten Island, which was overrun by a wall of water on Monday. Among the dead in Staten Island were two brothers, aged 2 and 4, who were swept from their mother's arms after her car stalled in rising flood waters. Their bodies were found near each other in a marshy area on Thursday. US Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and Federal Emergency Management Agency Deputy Administrator Richard Serino planned to visit Staten Island on Friday amid angry claims by some survivors that the borough had been ignored. Scenes of angry storm victims could complicate matters for politicians, from President Barack Obama just four days before the general election, to governors and mayors in the most heavily populated region in the United States. Obama so far has received praise for his handling of Sandy. “They forgot about us," said Theresa Connor, 42, describing her Staten Island neighborhood as having been “annihilated." “And (Mayor Michael) Bloomberg said New York is fine. The marathon is on!" Citing the boost it brings to the city's economy, New York Mayor Bloomberg decided to hold the world's largest marathon on Sunday, as scheduled. Adding to heated tempers, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut drivers were also confronting a shortage of gasoline. Even before dawn on Friday, long lines of cars snaked around gasoline stations around the area, and police were in place at many spots to keep the peace between furious, frustrated drivers. In blacked-out New York City neighborhoods, some residents complained about a lack of police and expressed fears about crime. Some were also concerned about traffic safety. “People feel safe during the day but as soon as the sun sets, people are extremely scared. The fact that Guardian Angels are on the streets trying to restore law just shows how out of control the situation is in lower Manhattan," said Wolfgang Ban, a restaurant owner in a Manhattan neighborhood. — Reuters
