Cold spell hits Sandy victims as fuel shortages bite

Victims of superstorm Sandy on the US east coast struggled against the cold early yesterday amid fuel shortages and power outages even as officials fretted about getting voters displaced by the storm to polling stations for tomorrow’s presidential election.

Overnight on Saturday, near-freezing temperatures gripped the US northeast. At least two more victims were found in New Jersey, one dead of hypothermia, as the overall death toll from one of worst storms in US history climbed to at least 112.

Fuel supplies continued to rumble toward disaster zones and electricity was slowly returning to darkened neighbourhoods after a storm that hit the coast last Monday. New York mayor Michael Bloomberg said it would be days before power is fully restored and fuel shortages end.