Worst hit were New York City and
New Jersey, with fuel shortages the latest in a series of post-storm
challenges.
Campaigning for Tuesday's presidential
election - suspended earlier in the week - has fully resumed.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg endorsed
President Barack Obama, citing his leadership on climate change.
Mr Bloomberg said Sandy could be evidence of
climate change.
Of the two candidates, he said, "one sees
climate change as an urgent problem that threatens our planet; one does
not".
"I want our president to place scientific
evidence and risk management above electoral politics."
Food hand-outs
Sandy arrived on the US Atlantic coast on
Monday night, bringing hurricane-strength winds, flooding and blackouts.
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About 4.5 million customers in 12 states are
still without power.
The storm could cost the US $50bn (£31bn),
according to forecasting firm Eqecat, which has doubled its previous estimate.
In New York, where Sandy brought a record 14ft
(4.2m) tidal surge, the National Guard is to deliver a million meals and
bottled water to residents affected by the storm.
In the south-western New York City borough of
Staten Island, at least 15 bodies have been recovered.
The storm, one of the biggest to hit the US in
decades, swamped the low-lying district with tidal surges, lifting whole houses
off their foundations.
Anger is rising there at the delay in bringing
aid.
One resident, Theresa Connor, told Reuters her
neighbourhood had been "annihilated".
"They forgot about us... And Bloomberg
said New York is fine. The marathon is on."
New York City councilman James Oddo said:
"If they take one first responder from Staten Island to cover this
marathon, I will scream."
Secretary of Homeland Security Janet
Napolitano and Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) official Richard
Serino will visit the borough on Friday.
Petrol station fights
Limited subway services returned to New York
on Thursday, though four of the seven train tunnels under the East river
remained flooded.
Fares on commuter trains, subways and buses
have been temporarily waived in a bid to entice commuters off the
traffic-choked roads.
Many of the petrol stations in the city and
the state of New Jersey remained closed. Fights broke out amid long queues on
forecourts.
Amtrak plans to restart its East Coast service
- the busiest train line in the US - on Friday.
In Hoboken, New Jersey, across the Hudson
River from New York City, some 20,000 people were still trapped in their homes
as floodwaters slowly receded.
Officials warned residents not to walk in
water polluted with sewage and chemicals.
Some 1.7 million people remain without power
in the state, where the National Guard is helping with evacuations and meal
distributions.
The cyclone also caused havoc further inland.
The state of West Virginia has seen up to 5ft
of snow in some areas, after Sandy collided with two winter weather fronts.
The number of dead in the US now exceeds the
toll from the Caribbean, where 69 people were killed by Sandy.
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