Sandy death toll rises to 82

NEW YORK: The number of deaths in New York City from superstorm Sandy has risen again, from 24 to 34, city police told AFP on Thursday.

The increase raises the national toll to 82 across 15 US states hit by the
storm, according to US media reports.

The overall toll from the storm thus went up to 154, including fatalities
in Canada and the Caribbean, where Haiti and Cuba were hit particularly hard.

In New York the majority of those killed were hit by trees that fell on
their homes or cars as the storm whipped into the city.

Others were electrocuted when they stepped in water electrified by downed
power cables, or drowned in the storm surge that flooded into homes at the peak
of the storm.

Sandy hit the east coast on Monday night, with violent winds that carried
unprecedented amounts of water into parts of New York City. The storm caused
massive power outages, plunging much of lower Manhattan into darkness.