nearly 7 million are without power tonight, including about 750,000 here in new york. amazingly, no one died in the building you see behind me here. the entire facade of this building collapsed. we re in a neighborhood called chelsea, really on the border of chelsea and greenwich village. but the picture says a lot. take a look at that. the entire facade of the building, which was being used frankly as an illegal hotel, mostly for overseas visitors, the entire facade is gone. the four rooms tell the story of this storm in miniature. thankfully, we understand, nobody was killed in there. it could have been much worse. uptown, about 2 miles north of where i m standing right now in chelsea, a dangling crane. that is another story entirely. a dagger pointed 90 stories down. thousands in a nearby hotel and apartment, all have been evacuated. the building is lit up tonight, but you see the crane there, the boom hanging down, the tension there is palpable. about a seven-block area a
burst into flames earlier this morning. officials are now assessing whether the gas levels there are excessively high in this neighborhood, and that could force those fire crews to evacuate. right now, 6.6 million people still without electricity across 15 states, and washington, d.c. nearly 2 million of them are here in new york where flooded subways has transportation at a virtual standstill. not to mention all the property damage and destruction, including those 80 homes that were consumed by that fire in queens. recovery from superstorm sandy could be as mayor michael bloomberg is calling it, a massive, a mammoth job. meteorologist rob marciano is in chelsea, new york, this morning with the latest on the damage there. rob, good morning. good morning, soledad. well, some of the damage behind me, one of a few buildings that were ripped off. nobody hurt miraculously. lower manhattan is still in the dark. day two now and it could be several more before it s all said and don
small signs. 18 new yorkers we know have now lost their lives in this storm. 15 elsewhere. nearly 7 million are without power tonight, including about 750,000 here in new york. amazingly, no one died in the building you see behind me here. the entire facade of this building behind me collapsed. we re in a neighborhood called chelsea, really on the border of chelsea and greenwich village. but the picture says a lot. take a look at that. the entire facade of the building, which was being used frankly as an illegal hotel, mostly for overseas visitors, the entire facade is gone. the four rooms tell the story of this storm in minute chur. thankfully, we understand, nobody was killed in there. it could have been much worse. uptown, about 2 miles north of where i m standing right now in chelsea, a dangling crane. that is another story entirely. a dagger pointed 90 stories down. thousands in a nearby hotel and apartment, all have been evacuated. the building is lit up tonight, but yo