NY subway reopens as storm death toll rises

New Yorkers awoke to the rumble of subway trains for the first time in four days and the death toll continued to rise from the former hurricane Sandy, one of the biggest and most devastating storms ever to hit the US.

Lines formed at petrol stations amid fuel shortages in the US northeast and emergency utility crews struggled to reach the worst hit areas and restore power to millions of people.

At least 82 people in North America died in the superstorm, which ravaged the northeast on Monday night, and officials said the count could rise as rescuers searched house-to- house in coastal towns.