Sandy's death toll rises as Northeast begins recovery

• U.S. death toll rises to 74
• Air traffic is resuming, but transit systems remain snarled
• Flooding still prompts evacuations in New York, New Jersey

Much of the storm-battered Northeast is now in early recovery mode. But widespread devastation and ongoing fallout from Superstorm Sandy will likely prolong rescue and rebuilding efforts, hampering the lives of millions over a wide area for days.

With Sandy's U.S. death toll now at 74 and estimates of destruction and economic fallout running as high as $55 billion, several flood- and wind-ravaged states are restoring some semblance of normalcy as roads, schools and mass transit systems go back online.

President Obama, who toured hard-hit New Jersey on Wednesday, warned that relief efforts would take time, but promised that federal officials would cut through "red tape and bureaucracy" to provide swift relief.

"At this point, our main focus is on the state of New Jersey and New York," said Obama, flanked by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie as they toured the state's battered shoreline. "But we're very concerned about some situations in Connecticut, and we're still monitoring West Virginia. Those four states are really bearing the brunt of this incredible storm."

Christie, an early supporter of Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney, has been a leading party critic of Obama during the campaign. But Christie's frequently blunt bombast was replaced by effusive praise for Obama's response to the crisis.

"I cannot thank the president enough for his personal concern and compassion for the people of our state,'' Christie said, as they met with storm victims.

Obama responded that Christie had put his "heart and soul" into response and recovery efforts.

While losing its early intensity, the 900-mile-wide storm, now heading into Canada, is expected to cause lingering problems across 17 states.

Flood-watch warnings remain for northern New England and the northern Mid-Atlantic; the National Weather Service has issued winter-storm warnings for the central Appalachians, along with gale-force-wind and flooding advisories across the lower Great Lakes.

The West Virginia mountains could get up to 10 inches of snow, bringing totals up to 3 feet in places. Surf conditions along the Atlantic, from Florida through New England, are expected to remain dangerous through Friday.

Sandy has been particularly destructive to New Jersey, where the storm ravaged coastal cities and towns Monday night after making landfall near Atlantic City. The latest storm-related deaths in the state came Wednesday night, when carbon monoxide leaking from a portable power generator apparently caused the deaths of two sisters, ages 18 and 19, at a Trenton apartment building. Residents say the generator was being used to provide electricity.

Much of Hoboken, N.J., remains underwater after being flooded by the Hudson River. An estimated 20,000 people were still stranded in their homes, encouraged by city officials to stay there and wait for supplies to reach them. Mayor Dawn Zimmer said floodwaters were receding late Wednesday night, but the city was still without power.

"We need more food, more water and more resources coming in,'' Zimmer said. "We need more volunteer teams coming in and checking on buildings.

Some New Jersey towns, such as Middletown, were experiencing gas shortages and shuttered service stations, forcing some motorists to wait hours to fill up cars and portable generators. But fears of widespread shortages and sharp price hikes have proved unfounded so far. The government is temporarily waiving some Clean Air Act requirements in 16 states and the District of Columbia to reduce storm-related fuel disruptions, which will allow conventional gasoline and blends to be sold instead of cleaner-burning reformulated fuel.

Nearly 6 million homes and businesses in at least 15 states and Washington, D.C., remain without power — down from Tuesday's 8.5 million — as an army of more than 50,000 utility workers from across the country and Canada arrived to make repairs. For power companies, the scale of the destruction was unmatched -- more widespread than any blizzard or ice storm and worse than the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

"It's unprecedented: fallen trees, debris, the roads, water, snow. It's a little bit of everything," said Brian Wolff, senior vice president of the Edison Electric Institute, a group that lobbies for utilities.

Air travel was rebounding after the storm caused more than 19,000 cancellations. Limited air service resumed Wednesday at New York's John F.Kennedy International Airport and Newark International. LaGuardia International was scheduled to open Thursday morning with limited service. Amtrak plans to restore some train service to New York City on Friday.

Trying to ease snarled post-storm traffic, Bloomberg said that cars entering Manhattan between 6 a.m. and midnight Thursday and Friday must have at least three people. Bloomberg announced the restriction partly in response to major traffic jams that developed Wednesday as motorists tried to cross the Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queensboro bridges to reach Manhattan.

National Guard troops and local police were evacuating the last of 700 patients from New York's flood-ravaged Bellevue Hospital to other hospitals and local shelters.

New York City schools remain closed through Friday.

More than 1.9 million New York customers remained without power, nearly all in the New York City and Long Island.

While Northeast power grids were being restored, backup batteries and generators for cellphone towers are running out of juice. One of every five towers was down Wednesday, according to the Federal Communications Commission.

That — plus more people relying on cellphones to stay connected — overwhelmed the system.

INTERACTIVE:Superstorm Sandy blasts eastern USA

IHS Global Insight predicted Sandy will end up causing about $20 billion in property damage and up to $30 billion in lost business. Another firm, AIR Worldwide, estimated losses up to $15 billion — big numbers probably offset by reconstruction and repairs that will contribute to longer-term growth.

Across the storm region:

— In Connecticut, where more than 500,000 Connecticut Light & Power
customers and 187,000 United Illuminating customers lost power at Sandy's peak, there were still 378,000 outages Wednesday evening. In New Haven, a 103-year-old oak tree that fell during the storm revealed a skeleton that may have been there since Colonial times. The tree was on the town green, in an area where thousands were buried in the Colonial era.

-- Police in suburban Philadelphia say an early morning electrical fire that killed two women is considered storm-related, bringing to 11 the number of statewide deaths linked to Sandy. About 600,000 residents were still without power, down from 1.2 million at the peak of the outages.

The Department of Environmental Protection, which regulates drinking water and wastewater plants, said problems because of flooding or power loss were widespread, particularly in eastern and central Pennsylvania. Advisories to boil water were issued for several counties.

— In West Virginia, utilities scrambled to restore power to hundreds of thousands of customers amid snow storms and freezing temperatures. Poor road conditions were hampering assessment efforts. The state's toll climbed to at least six, including state delegate candidate John Rose, killed by a falling tree limb as he was checking fences on his 100-acre farm near Philippi. Snow drifts as high as 5 feet were reported in Richwood. At least 36 state roads remain closed.

--- In Maine, the Port of Portland reopened, but ocean conditions remained dangerous with high winds. Amtrak's Downeaster resumed service. About 3,000 Central Main Power customers were without electricity Wednesday night, down from a 90,000 peak.

-- In northern Ohio, flood warnings remained for the Cleveland lakeshore area as power crews were attempting to restore power to thousands of homes and businesses.

— In Wisconsin, dangerously high waves and flooding were expected along Lake Michigan.

-- In Kentucky, as much as a foot of snow blanketed the Appalachians.

Contributing: Kevin McCoy, Elizabeth Weise, William Welch, The Associated Press, Asbury Park Press