Good evening. And tonight, we have breaking news from the storm zone. Look at this. New scenes of utter devastation. Thousands of people still stranded. And at this hour, rescuers still scrambling to pull families out of harms way. Also tonight, a new terror. Can you see that in the water . The bubbling up . That geyser is flammable gas spewing out of a pipe and its happening all across one town. A single spark could ignite everything. And the people there can hear the hissing sound as it leaks. Listen. [ hissing ] abcs terry moran spent the day in that town and hes standing by with the very latest for us right now. Terry . Reporter diane, this is what you see throughout the jersey shore right now. Homes just ripped right off their foundations. This was someones living room. Theres a kitchen back there, a bathroom over here. But look down here. None of the infrastructure of the house is left. Its somewhere else. And that is why the real threat here right up and down the shore is what you cant see. Fires rage in the town of mantoloking on the jersey shore early this morning, fueled by natural gas. It is a harbinger of a worstcase scenario here a potential disaster after the disaster. You can smell the gas. You can hear the gas. You can smell the gas. Everywhere you go, you hear shh, just the gas, all the open gas lines going. Just scared to death. [ hissing ] reporter do you hear that . That is the sound that everyone left in these towns is fearing the most right now. It is a hissing gas main. You hear it on street after street, right up the shore. You can smell the gas in the air. And fire officials are concerned that these towns are basically ticking time bombs. Everywhere we went along the jersey shore today, in town after town, the air was filled with this hissing menace. If the wind shifts, its going to get into the crawl space, god forbid, a spark. Reporter in the town of ortley beach, frank mazzo is worried and getting angry. Have you called the gas company about this . Five times. Reporter whats the response been . Well get there as soon as we can. Reporter a High Pressure gas main broke in the floodwaters right next to his home. You can actually see the gas pouring out. It ruptured monday night. I dont know why theres not more trucks here right now. I mean, this is where we took the main shot. This is it, like, where are all the gas trucks . You got down the block, we got down the block, why cant we get gas trucks down the block . Reporter we saw fleets of earthmovers clearing streets choked with acres of sand. And search and rescue teams continue to take the stranded to safety. But only a handful of gas crews as the air fills with the makings of another catastrophe. Abc news has reached out to new jersey natural gas, thats the Utility Company here, and received the following response there is no imminent danger to life or property. The people here would disagree. Diane . Watching and waiting tonight. Thank you, terry. And further up the 630 miles of battered coastline, and thats in new york and new jersey alone. We go to hoboken, new jersey, and two pictures that say so much. Wading through the river of water there and also, a very determined piggyback ride to safety. Abcs alex perez is there. Alex . Reporter well, diane, here, the streets of hoboken still much chaos tonight. This is a medical unit truck that showed up to help someone stranded in this apartment. People are just trying to figure out what to do. There are trucks like this one all over town trying to make sure that people get to safety. Many of them are frustrated and running out of options. The bottom of the bathtub, as one Neighbor Calls it, first and harrison in hoboken. This is the sight stranded residents never thought theyd see. Military rescue crews busting their backs to get each person out. Step by step, one by one. Ann clearly has patiently been waiting her turn for the last few hours. You cant communicate with anyone. You cant find out whats going on anywhere else. Weve been on this little island. Reporter hoboken is just across the hudson river from manhattan. Its the city where Frank Sinatra was born and tonight, its 25 under water. Abcs sam champion got a birdseye view today. The flooding that were looking at in hoboken, this is wednesday that were flying right now. The storm made landfall on monday night, thats when they got the water in. That water is still there. Reporter on the ground, as many as 20,000 people may be stranded in their homes. Here, an entire block, taking turns using a generator to charge their phones and make some coffee to stay warm. Some are braving the stew of sewage and rainwater. Danna mattow and Daniel Obrien decided to truck through. Its scary, you dont know how long youre going to be stuck here. You dont know how youre going to get out of town. Reporter dramatic scenes playing out across the region, in the desperate hours since sandy hit. Last night, new york Police Helicopters airlifted Staten Island residents off their roof. Up and down the jersey shore, scenes of devastation. House after house, crumpled to bits. And for many, stranded here in hoboken, theres no relief in sight. And diane, im standing in whats supposed to be a busy intersection. But if you look around, as far as the eye can see, nothing but water. And of course, for the people who live here, the urgency is only growing. Diane . Thank you, alex. And these rescue scenes bring us to an update, the ones you saw in alexs report, because they include some heroes of the storm you have met before. As sandy crashed into new york, i went to meet with the nypds Scuba Rescue Team and they are preparing to brave 20foot waves in the dark of the night to help anyone in trouble, but they tell me today, they did not have to rescue a single new yorker in the waters, so, they boarded those rescue helicopters. They were there, airlifting people off the rooftop in Staten Island. A grateful city thanking them tonight. And how about the bright lights of the big city . Well, the power was flickering back on today, in parts of the city. And heres how it began on wall street. Street lights glowed green. And backup generators powered up the New York Stock Exchange as mayor Michael Bloomberg rang the opening bell. The markets back in business after a twoday hiatus. The dow closed flat at the end of the day. Other signs of life tonight. Broadway back after losing 7 million in ticket sales. And we could see new yorkers huddling at banks using extension cords to charge their cell phones. All across the city, new yorkers walked and waited. You can see the traffic there on the right. It was hours to move anywhere. And there is another hospital being evacuated tonight. Bellevue hospital, famous for its Mental Health services. 150 National Guard members coming in to take those patients to safety tonight. And new york is one of just 16 states grappling with Power Outages tonight. Take a look at this. The New York Times created a visual portrait of the Power Outages, as sandy moved up the coast and then moved on, leaving behind darkness. There you see where it happened. And also, back in action today, abcs chief medical editor, dr. Richard besser. He was gathering up floodwater to test it for safety of anyone who touches it. And tonight, he put it to the lab. He has the answers. Rich . Reporter thats right. Yesterday, it was all about floodwater. This is water thats in peoples basements, its water thats on the streets. So, i went down to Lower Manhattan to collect a sample of that water for testing. And as you know, it was loaded with gasoline. The Ambient Group lab tested it for bacteria and heres what they found. The yellow tells us it has bacteria. But look at this purple glow. Thats sky high levels of sewage contamination. All in all, the lab told us they found gasoline and two types of bacteria that are in sewage, coliforms and e. Coli. Its very dangerous to come in contact with this. You have to wear protective equipment. Wear gloves, wear gloves, and, again, throw out anything. You are going to test Drinking Water, as well. Reporter thats right. Im getting these questions from all over the country about how safe is the Drinking Water . So, today, i went to the village of piermont, new york, to look at their water and see what the conditions are like. Theyve been very hardhit. They are under a boil water advisory. That means their water may not be safe to drink without boiling or purifying with bleach. The storm knocked out one of their pumps. That means a big water pipe may have lost pressure and sucked back some of the dirty water from the outside. And the Water Company was testing. This home, they saw that advisory and they were doing the boiling and thats a good thing. The steeple family, they are all set for halloween. And me and my helper collected this water. And the lab is doing testing on their home water today. And well have those results for you. And how long do you have to boil the water before it is safe . Reporter you have to boil it for a full minute to ensure it is safe. Rolling boil, one full minute. Reporter thats right. Okay. And rich will be back again tomorrow night. Thank you, rich. And before we move on, where is sandy tonight . The remnants of the storm are hurtling across the border into canada. Flood warnings still in effect for parts of seven states. More snow on the way in West Virginia and maryland. And our abc news extreme weather Team Continues the nonstop coverage throughout this night. And now, the race for the presidency, and a powerful image today. The firebrand republican governor of new jersey, Chris Christie, sidebyside with president obama, joining forces in this crisis. And just as our abc News Washington post poll out today shows president obama and governor mitt romney in a dead heat. Your voice, your vote, and abcs jake tapper has more. Reporter Hurricane Sandy has forced the president to cancel his appearance at seven campaign events. But he may have gotten something more valuable. Youre going to be okay. Everybodys safe, right . Reporter the opportunity to lead and be seen leading. Today with new jerseys republican governor Chris Christie at a shelter in brigantine, new jersey. Hang in there. Thank you. Reporter theirs was a most public display of bipartisanship today, a trait many undecided voters profess to love, one sorely lacking in washington, d. C. He has worked incredibly closely with me and i cannot thank the president enough for his personal concern. Governor christie, throughout this process, has been responsive, he has put his heart and soul into making sure that the people of new jersey bounce back Even Stronger than before. Reporter the president seems confident. His Campaign Manager said they have the math, romneys campaign the myth. Polls out today have the president up in two of the states the president needs to put together his electoral puzzle wisconsin and ohio. And its not as if all campaigning has been discontinued. Weve got to get through the next six days. Reporter Vice President biden in florida and former president clinton in iowa have been making the president s case for him. Obamas economic plan is better. His budget plan is better. Reporter and diane, starting tomorrow morning, president obama will be campaigning fulltime, full steam ahead, going to wisconsin, colorado, nevada, three cities in ohio, and diane, thats just thursday and friday. All right, thank you, jake. And what about governor romney . What does he plan to do as the race enters the final stretch . Abcs Jonathan Karl tells us about that. Reporter mitt romney was back on the campaign trail today in florida, but with a twist. Gone was any criticism of the president , replaced with talk of unity. Look, we cant go on the road we are on. We cant change course in america if we keep on attacking each other. We have got to come together and get america on track again. Reporter recent polls in florida show the race here in a dead heat. Romneys most prominent florida supporter told us its hard to imagine him getting elected if he doesnt win here. I think its very important to win and obviously difficult to come up with a formula for victory, im sure there is one, but lets not even try. Lets win florida. Reporter just as important for romney is ohio, where he is under fire for ads suggesting u. S. Automakers are about to ship jobs to china. Obama took gm and chrysler into bankruptcy and sold chrysler to italians who are going to build jeeps in china. Reporter chrysler and gm angrily denied they are shifting u. S. Production to china. And joe biden accused romney of lying and causing panic among autoworkers in ohio. Thousands of them are calling their uaw reps, is it true, is it true . Is jeep really going to leave . Is the announcement they made not true . Are they going to shut down our plant . What a cynical, cynical thing to do. Reporter but the Romney Campaign does see some positive signs out there, especially in pennsylvania, minnesota and michigan. Three states that have been considered solidly democratic, but where the Obama Campaign is now suddenly playing defense, spending more than 1 million on tv ads for the final week. Diane . Also on the campaign trail, Jonathan Karl. Thank you, jon. And coming up here next, flammable gas leaking and its not just a danger in the storm zone. Look. Our experiment tonight on this invisible threat. Hi, i just switched jobs, and i want to roll over my old 401 k into a fidelity ira. Man okay, no problem. Its easy to get started; i can help you with the paperwork. Um. This green line just appeared on my floor. Yeah, thats fidelity helping you reach your financial goals. Could you hold on a second . Its your money. Roll over your old 401 k into a fidelity ira and take control of your personal economy. This is going to be helpful. Call or come in today. Fidelity investments. Turn here. But between checkups tartar builds. Keep it clean with new listerine® ultraclean™. Its the only mouthwash with a new tartar control formula for a dentist clean feeling. Ahhhhhhhh. [ male announcer ] new listerine® ultraclean™. Power to your mouth™. [ male announcer ] the rhythm of life. [ whistle blowing ] where do you hear that beat . Campbells healthy request soup lets you hear it. In your heart. [ basketball bouncing ] heart healthy. Great taste. Mmm. [ male announcer ] sounds good. Its amazing what soup can do. [ male announcer ] youve been years in the making. And there are many years ahead. Join the millions of members whove chosen an aarp Medicare SupplementInsurance Plan insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. Go long. Earlier tonight, we took you to the town in terror from all the gas pipes hissing and spewing flammable gas all over their towns. So, we wondered exactly how much of that gas is needed to cause an explosion . And abcs Senior National correspondent jim avila set out to show us tonight. Jim . Reporter so, diane, were at the virginia beach, virginia, training center, im with a firefighter here who is going to show us what happens when a commercial gas meter breaks. The pilot light will be on. And look how fast it will take off. Its a frightening sound, and sight. Natural gas burns fast and long. And after a Natural Disaster like Hurricane Sandy, where houses have been moved off their foundations, and whole blocks leveled from fire, its a hazard at every turn. There is little clue, except a sulfur smell that is purposely added to the gas as a warning that danger lingers. So, what are we approaching here . You can kind of smell that rotten egg smell. Right. Were simulating a broken gas line here, and that smell is the mercaptan that is injected into natural gas. Reporter okay, so when it goes up, it kind of goes up like your outside gas grill. Its hot. Right. Right now its seeking an ignition source. Ignition source can come from anything from a fuse on a light pole or a cigarette butt. Reporter but theres no real explosion, right . No, once the gas is seeking, a 5 to 17 flammable range and bam, it goes off. Inside a structure, thats where youre going to get your explosion. Reporter theres plenty of evidence of that. Watch as this house is rocked during a Training Exercise by arson investigators. The explosions are very hazardous, they can generate pressures on the order of 35 atmospheres. And these are like a military ballistic blast that can level houses and kill people within a great distance. Reporter and while our demonstrations today used flares to ignite, sources of ignitions are everywhere in a disaster zone. Virtually anything can be an ignition source. Motors or fans can ignite it or heat, the temperature, something thats cherry red, an electric stove thats cherry red is hot enough to ignite the mixture. Reporter diane, thats the sound that people all over new jersey are hearing. The thing the Fire Department says here is, dont panic, because it takes direct ignition to get it started, if youre outside. If youre inside a house and that happens, get out right away, then call 911. Diane . All right, jim avila. Thank you tonight. And, coming up, a milestone also worth noting today, for the sistine chapel. Why did michelangelo tell his friends he didnt want to paint it in the first place . I had enough of feeling embarrassed about my skin. [ designer ] enough of just covering up my moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. I decided enough is enough. [ spa lady ] i started enbrel. Its clinically proven to provide clearer skin