pushed by sandy, the hudson river flowed into hoboken's subway station and filled hoboken's streets. the city has banned driving and issued a curfew trying to keep people away from live power lines in the water. thousands are without power including city hall where hoboken officials are hunkered down with a generator answering questions from the stranded and from the weary and from people who are wanting to volunteer to help. joining us now is dawn zimmer, the mayor of hoboken. mayor, thank you for making time for us. i appreciate it. >> thank you for having me on. >> can you tell us what is the state of things in hoboken, have you still got deep flooding, are you still doing rescues at this point? >> oh, yeah, we still have severe flooding in hoboken. probably half our city is flooded. we have 20,000 people that are still remain in their homes and, you know, we're trying to put together an evacuation plan, get the equipment here, trying to ask the national guard to help us and bring the equipment that we absolutely need. the payloaders aren't doing it. we can't get down so many city

hobokeners

in the city of hoboken, probably half our city is flooded. we have about 20,000 people that still remain in their homes and we're trying to put together an evacuation plan, get the equipment here. we can't get down so many city streets and really concerned about the residents stranded in their homes right now. >> meanwhile the northern part of hoboken, here you see an incredible photograph of a parking lot full of submerged taxis. the storm surge forced floodwaters into the station that connects hoboken to new york city. officials say it could be at least 7 to 10 days before service will be restored there. we'll have a live report from hoboken a little later in the show. meanwhile miles of the eastern seaboard particularly along the jersey shore look completely unrecognizable this morning as these breath taki king aerial pictures show us. today president obama is scheduled to arrive in atlantic city to survey the damage alongside governor chris christie. the governor who yesterday praised the president's handling of the disaster said he will

we're filling up like a bathtub here in hoboken. it's the north end and south end of hoboken. we've still got four live wires. pse&g cannot get into the city. we just put out one fire but got calls from concerned residents of fires in other buildings and we literally cannot get to them. we've called in the national guard hoping they can get here as soon as possible. another fire department was trying to come in, and they cannot get into our city right now. all entrances to hoboken are blocked, except for the vehicles that the national guard, deuce and a quarter is what we're looking for to make sure we can get to our residents and make sure they're safe. the big concern right now is making sure that people stay inside, like i said, we've got four potentially live wires in floodwaters. and really, right now, there's nothing that we can do about it. we can't get pse&g in here. so we're concerned about anybody walking out and going into the floodwaters. really concerned about people on the street level apartments. and hopefully they have gone up to their neighbors, and they're ou

hoboken's mayor is urging people not to go outside. she says there are live electrical wires in some waters. debris is piled up all over the place. hoboken is a city of 50,000 people, located directly across from manhattan to the west of where i'm standing. brian todd is in hoboken now. brian, bring us up to speed. what is the latest? >> reporter: anderson, national guard trucks rolling through here, trying to pick people up who are stranded. you can see here what the situation is. this water is coming up to people's knees, some of these gentlemen here are trying to clear storm drains, but you can see down the street, several cars stranded, many, many residents stranded in their homes. national guard high clearance vehicles moving through here, trying to pick some people up, taking them to higher ground and taking them to places where they can at least take some shelter for now. anderson, it is slow going and this surge that we're seeing here, the surge of water is really a result of storm drains backing up. when the storm came through

back in hoboken, there are four fires here, three areas closed because of all the flooding. >> well, katy, where you are in hoboken, where we are on the jersey shore, and for folks watching this it really is what it feels like this this region tonight. another urban crisis is happening over in new york city. if you watch any cop shows at all, you have heard of bellevue, the hospital with the trauma center. when you're a reporter in new york, covering, god forbid, a cop shooting, they are taken there for the trauma center. more on the story from robert bazell. >> reporter: the evacuations from new york's premier hospital are continuing this evening at an orderly pace. even though the generators were working, the hospital administrators decided this morning they couldn't function because of the deteriorating conditions, including a lack of running water and elevators that didn't work. >> there is complete calm in the house and it didn't feel like an emergency situation, it felt like an urgent situation. >> reporter: some critical care patients were moved, today, the staff helped the re

this is a path train station in hoboken. no match for the raging floodwaters coming from the hudson river.

mayor. >> we need more fuel, resources, so anybody who is listening to this in the city of hoboken or neighboring towns who can get to us, we ask you to come and deliver your supplies. >> reporter: as the length of this mixture of water, sewer, and oil turned into ponds, some got their first chance to assess the damage. how does it smell in there? >> i don't want to know. >> reporter: like pretty much every one else, this man got four feet of water, he has a home in monmouth beach. >> trying to stay strong for our family. my wife, and my kids monmouth be. we have two houses devastated. >> reporter: upstairs and inside for almost 72 hours, his wife, lisa, is trying to remain calm. >> monday night was probably the most terrifying night of my life, hearing the transformers exploding, the car alarms dying. >> reporter: officials say it will take at least two days to pump out all of this water, a grim reality that this town of 50,000 is only now starting to understand. eight miles away in newark, they're without power. late last night, cory booker toured the damage interview on , in an int

there's no entrance to south hoboken. it's completely flooded. and north hoboken, also flooded. you can get in through the via duct but we're asking for only hoboken residents to get in, asking people don't drive in hoboken because we have no traffic signals now. there's people out walking around, major concern that is we've got live wires in several locations and they're in the floodwaters and we just don't know literally people could get seriously injured or possibly electrocuted by being in some of the water. . it's a major concern. it's difficult to reach people in homes. cell phones have died. they have no access. they can't get out. i'm concerned they're walking out into the waters and we want to keep them face. that's our focus. we have asked the national guard to come in and hoping they'll be here soon. >> we're keeping track with you and how you are all doing there. it's an extraordinary story, the fact no major injuries or fatalities but a dire situation in hoboken, new jersey. super storm sandy, full impact, we really don't know. but we want to help. if you want to he

situation here in hoboken. we got -- the hudson river has breached the city, north end of hoboken and the south end of hoboken. we, our hospital was thankfully evacuated yesterday, but has had to shut down, you know, evacuated safely, but has had to shut down and so now we're bringing in the national guard. we have a couple of people that we need to, you know, that are some seniors who are on oxygen. we need to get them more oxygen tanks and need to either get them, you know, hopefully we will. i'm sure we will be able to get them out of hoboken eventually but right now you cannot get in or out of hoboken and we've had a -- we have live wires, a couple of locations that are in the floodwaters, psg&e can't get here. we've had fires that we're dealing with. we called for assistance from other communities and, of course, they can't get here as well. so it's a challenging situation. but we've got all hands on deck working really hard to keep our community safe and so far i can say that, you know, all hoboken reside

we are live in downtown hoboken. back to you. >>> millions of dollars on their way to storm ravaged new york and long island. transportation secretary ray lahood has $13 million in emergency funds available immediately to repair the damage caused by hurricane sandy. earlier this week, president obama cleared the way for disaster assistance, including a major disaster declaration for new york. >>> it is 4:39 right now. coming up, a warning in howard county. how untreated water entered the little paw tuxen river. we'll get an update. >>> welcome back at 4:42. if you look outside your window, you're going to see there's no rain falling. >> that's good news for us. we're going to see the chilly weather continue. tom kierein is in the weather center with the latest forecast. >> good morning. >>> a little moon showing through. a few breaks in the clouds. we are getting a few sprinkles. storm team 4 radar showing a few sprinkles in parts of prince william, fauquier, loudoun, and a few more down towards culpeper and around t

mayor, how many people are still stranded in hoboken? >> i'd say about 25,000 people are still stranded. >> mayor dawn zimmer, thank you for helping us get the word out. we'll do what we can to connect you to the resources you need. and keep us apprised. thank you. i want to show you newark, new jersey. this was newark, new jersey, a city of 270,000 people. never an easy place. this was newark after sandy moved through. newark almost entirely without power. all those people with no ideas when elevators and traffic signals would work again. we don't know what happens to newark if it stays unplugged. the largest city in total darkness. but then in what feels like an october miracle, they got the lights going. not all of it, but much of it. this is as of hours ago. newark appears to have made some progress. the head of the local electric company got a congratulatory call from president obama himself. the quote you need to know is "great work, ralph." great work in terms of making this much progress this fast. joining us is cory booker. is i

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 piggy back ride to safety. abc's 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 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 site stranded residents thought they'd never see. military rescue crew s busting their backs to get each person out. step by step, one by one. ann has been waiting her turn for the last few hours. >> you can't communicate with everyone. you can't find out what's going on anywhere else. we've been on this little island. >> reporter: hoboken is just across the hudson river from manhattan. it's the city where fran

reporting from hoboken there. pretty hard to imagine scene for those families tonight. >>> to the north, the coast guard busy all day rescuing people trapped by floodwaters. maggie, what did you see? >> that's right, erin. we saw a community in shock basically and underwater. they sometimes get some very low-level flooding, but not expecting anything like this. as we walked around, the water waist deep, and at low tide, cars floating in the middle of the road. we met up with a family that has their own military vehicle they refurbished. heard about it on the news. came down, boy, were they needed. they were working with the national guard. we rode along with them. you cannot get there, in boats. only the very large trucks can get there. elderly people, got stuck in their homes, did not expect anything like this. all the years they live there. one man had a pacemaker, his wife is very concerned as they lifted him in, they were very scared, very shaken up, still had their humor about them. this is what we saw over a

you talk about the mayor in hoboken telling people who have boats to come rescue people. did he get a big response? >> reporter: with several people, they have brought boats they could to help out, we have a come rah -- cameraman out right now on a boat with some of the rescuers trying to get to those people in the hardest hit areas. we heard a report, talking of frustration, one guy telling associated press, right here in hoboken, he got out of his air mattress and floated to city hall to give officials a piece of his mind. i wish i had seen that myself. gerri: all right, listen, thank you so much for, that fascinating report, this mess just goes on and on, jonathan thank you so much. >> reporter: thank you. gerri: residentses in businesses below 34th street in lower manhattan face obstacles in an area that is densely populated with financially real estate,s without power, tom. >> we started out with 8 million people, this the northeast, mid atlantaic to northeast, dor down to 6 -- we're down to 6 million right now in new york probably whole new york area probably 2 mill

plus, the national guard is on the scene in hobby -- hoboken, new jersey in manhattan. the troops are rescuing people and pets from homes that are still flooded. we'll get a live update from hoboken and beyond up and down the east coast, inland to chicago. the storm that won't quit from the journalists of fox news on this wednesday fox report. [ engine revving ] ♪ [ male announcer ] every car we build must make adrenaline pump and pulses quicken. ♪ to help you not just to stay alive but feel alive. the new c-class is no exception. it's a mercedes-benz, through and through. see your authorized mercedes-benz dealer for exceptional offers through mercedes-benz financial services. >> shepard: downed power lines making traffic a real nightmare in the hardest hit areas. here in new york city, traffic jams like you cannot imagine oh my god. >> this is a live look on sixth avenue in front of our studios. may not look like it at the moment. reportedly looks like this all over manhattan and especially downtown. much of the city is in the dark. about 80 blocks of the city and

we'll talk with bob menendez, who was touring hoboken. we'll have his take on the other side of the break. >>> and look at this. that is going to be a mess and have a big impact, obviously, on folks who run those businesses. ♪ [ female announcer ] nature exists on the grandest scale... ♪ ...and in the tiniest details. ♪ and sometimes both. nature valley granola thins pack the big taste of granola and dark chocolate into one perfect square, under 100 calories. nature valley granola thins. nature at its most delicious. i honestly loved smoking, and i honestly didn't think i would ever quit. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix is proven to help people quit smoking. it reduces the urge to smoke. it put me at ease that you could smoke on the first week. [ male announcer ] some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doct

>>jonathan: it is a desperate situation for many residents of hoboken. there is still up close, today, a lot of water standing in the streets, many homes badly flooded at the ground level and that has left so many residents here stranded. the national guard has arrived now on the scene. they have been going from house-to-house, residence to residence, taking people out by truck and in some cases by boat. many of them that we spoke to just very relieved they finally got help and got rescued. some 48 hours or more after the storm first hit. it was tough for them. many of them have little food and nothing to drink, no power at all over here in hoboken. for those who can get out it is difficult to get to work. as you know very well, many of them work right across the river in manhattan and you can see the world trade center there on the lower tip of manhattan but getting from here to there has proven almost impossible for a lot of people. those who tried to dry in to manhattan faced a six hour journey and no new jersey transit, no subway, there will be a ver

i didn't know that hoboken is below sea level. a good part of the city year-round is actually below the level of the hudson, right? >> reporter: that's what's amazing about hoboken, every time it rains, this place floods. every time there's a large downpour, it floods. i used to work at wnbc local, we were here every spring when it got to be really rainy out here and it flooded. this is not like anything they've seen, though. this is much worse. and the idea it's going to take two days to get out is actually quite remarkable. >> great reporting by nbc's katy tur in hoboken, new jersey. >>> when we return, let me finish with something serious too, the best way to fight against ugly racial politics. we'll tell you how to do it. it basically comes down to one word, get out there and vote yourself. you're watching "hardball," the place for politics. ♪ announcing the all-new 2013 malibu from chevrolet. ♪ with a remarkable new interior featuring the available chevrolet mylink infotainment system. this is where sophisticated styling

ram. >>> thousands of people are stranded in the city of hoboken. that's right across the hudson river from manhattan. most are trapped in their apartments by hundreds of millions of gallons of water mixed with sewage. the national guard is bringing in supplies and bringing some people out. joining us now on the phone is greg lincoln, he's a hoboken resident stranded along with his family. what's going on where you are, greg? tell our viewers. >> well, there's a lot of water. we actually just evacuated about an hour ago. and headed out of the city. we were able to do that. a lot of people from the building where i live in were getting on the national guard trucks and getting out. we've been without power for two days. and we're looking for relief. the water had started to fail as well. we were concerned about just the generator that was keeping the lights on and some electricity in the lobby of the building as well. we didn't know if they were going to get fuel for that. but the mayor and the national guard stopped by, gave us an update on the situa

the devastation in hoboken. we see the president now coming off of air force one, just moments ago, and being greeted by chris christie, the governor of new jersey, who, of course, was one of the chief surrogates for mitt romney, now with craig fugate of fema, and the president of the united states, walking towards marine one. this was moments ago. we showed you live and now they are preparing, of course, as we see they were boarding marine one, preparing to take the aerial tour leading from atlantic city and going up the coast. meanwhile, further north we see the aerial view showing the devastation in hoboken, new jersey, where national guard troops have arrived to help evacuate thousands still trapped in their homes. it is especially treacherous because of live downed power lines dangling in the floodwaters. nbc's katie tur is in hoboken, new jersey. what is the hope -- look behind you, the first i'm seeing of this picture, it is devastating. what are you hearing from the rescue -- the rescue and relief forces

nbc's katy t ur joins us now live from hoboken. i imagine the national guard a welcome sight and see what's happening there by your live shot. >> reporter: yeah. they were definitely a welcome sight. we're getting water from this guy in the hummer. they came in here midnight and a dire call from help from the mayor of the town speaking with rachel and said we have 20,000 people trapped in the homes. the water came in around monday evening. people started to stay in their homes. sunday evening when the storm was hitting. so they were in their homes since then. they're just getting out today. the waters have receded enough in some areas to make it out. the waters are still covering a good portion of this town. there's 500 million gallons of water here to pump out and takes at least two days. looking down here, hard to see because it's far away but there's been a steady stream of people walking over this highway in to jersey city to get supplies. almost no power in jersey city right now but there's a target that's open and going in th

listen. >> we have 50,000 people in hoboken, and probably half of hoboken is flooded. there's anywhere from, you know, 15 to 25,000 people that are -- >> still in those homes. >> that are still in their homes. and they can't get out. i'm asking for the national guard to come in. we are desperate for the national guard to come in. we need their specialized equipment to be able to get to our city streets and be able to safely get to people and evacuate those -- >> who did you ask at the national guard? >> i've been asking them. there's a chain of command we've been going through -- >> what are you hearing? what are they saying to you? >> they're coming, they're coming, they're coming, but they're not here. i just had to tell a grandmother i'm sorry, we can't get in to get your grandchildren. 7-month-old twins running out of food. she last spoke to her grandchildren -- her daughter this morning and she said i think i have enough food to get through the night. 7-month-old twins, i cannot get to them. >> gary, i want to ask about the situation with the national guard. befor

we are live in hoboken, new jersey this morning, i'm renee marsh. back to you. >>such incredible images, not only from new york and new jersey, also here in maryland. western maryland took us all by surprise with all that snow. >> more than a foot of snow out there. they've got an extreme weather warning out there now. closer to home, though, we've got a number of school closings, information you need to know as you start your wednesday. sheree johnson is going to have an update coming up of all those school closings. but, of course, everyone knows how the weather is going to be so you can get to cleanup. >> let's send it over to meteorologist lynette charles. lynette, i know it's been crazy. this is finally a sigh of relief, but will people get out in their yard and be able to clean up today? >> yes, they will be able to clean up today. you see the radar behind me, you see some green and different colors going on. let me step out of the way so you can see what's going on. across our area we are dry, but back off toward the west, that's where we are dealing with

that's hoboken, i think. this is "hardball," the place for politics. >>> we've got some new "new york times" quinnipiac/cbs poll numbers in three key senate races. let's check the "hardball" scoreboard. we start in virginia, where democrat tim kaine is leading republican george allen by just four, kaine, 50, allen, 46. in ohio, sherrod brown has a nine-point lead over josh mandell. and in florida, democratic senator bill nelson keeps coming back. he's got a big lead over republican connie mack, nelson 52, mack, 39. and that's a 13-point lead for the democrat. we'll be right back. i'm an expert on softball. and tea parties. i'll have more awkward conversations than i'm equipped for because i'm raising two girls on my own. i'll worry about the economy more than a few times before they're grown. but it's for them, so i've found a way. who matters most to you says the most about you. massmutual is owned by our policyholders so they matter most to us. massmutual. we'll help you get there. [ birds chirping ] are yo

let's listen. >> we have 50,000 people in hoboken and probably half of hoboken is flooded, so there's anywhere from 15,000 to 25,000 people that are -- >> reporter: still in the homes. >> -- still in their homes. and they can't get out. i'm asking for the national guard to come in. we are desperate for the national guard to come in. we need their specialized equipment to be able to get to our city streets, to be able to safely get the people and to be able to evacuate those. i have been asking. there's a chain of command with the state and we have been -- >> reporter: what are you hearing? >> they're coming, they're coming, but they're not here. i just had a grandmother i had to tell i'm so sorry but we can't get in to get your grandchildren. they are 7 month old twins running out of food. she last spoke to her grandchildren or her daughter this morning and she said i think i have enough food to get through the night. this is 7 month old twins. i can't get to them. i cannot help them. >> it's heartbreaking to hear the mayor talk about that. i talked to her last night and she was sayin

that's hoboken, folks. those are live right now. that is standing water in the streets of hoboken. we've all had those moments. when you lost the thing you can't believe you lost. when what you just bought, just broke. or when you have a little trouble a long way from home... as an american express cardmember you can expect some help. but what you might not expect, is you can get all this with a prepaid card. spends like cash. feels like membership. i'd like to thank eating right, whole grain, multigrain cheerios! mom, are those my jeans? [ female announcer ] people who choose more whole grain tend to weigh less than those who don't. multigrain cheerios >>> well, here is something you don't see every day. folks, this is the new york sky line where much of lower manhattan is still without power. nearly 2 million people in the dark statewide. that was last night. now along the jersey shore town after town was hammered by this storm. houses removed from the foundation, beaches completely washed away. this is seaside heights, one of the jersey shore's most well-known summer playgrounds

this is the public transportation system in hoboken. it is unbelievable, with a double figure death figures will continue to follow. >>pam: for the market update the nyse-listed closed it will remain closed tomorrow because of the hurricane. it is the first time since 1888 that it has being closed for two consecutive days because of bad weather. it could also interfere with the october jobs report. it was too out this friday. it is the final look at the job market before the presidential election. and federal government offices shut down today and the federal bureau of labor statistics are not sure if they can release the report on time. >> gasoline prices could increase. as hurricane sandy ripping through. the experts saying that the largest atlantic storm is making its way to the heart of the east coast. and it is fierce winds and unrelenting rainfall is pounding major refineries in delaware, new jersey, pennsylvania. it is already shutting down, it temporarily. the world series champs return. and alex smith a nearly perfect monday ni

this is a live look at hoboken, new york. at least 17 states -- sorry, hoboken, new jersey. at least 17 states are seeing the effects of the storm now. this morning, jfk and newark airports are now both reopened but not all flights will be restored. new york's la guardia airport remains closed at this hour. it could take days before travel finally gets back to normal. we're back, tracking the effects of this storm in the newsroom. >> you mentioned a couple airports back in business. jfk and -- the first passenger flight to jfk has arrived. sfo is a different story because a few dozen east coast bound flights are already canceled today so check with your carrier before you head to one of our local airports. we're going to take a look at a developing story we're following in new jersey. multiple fires are threatening more homes in the peninsula town of bricktown which was hit hard by sandy. at least 14 homes there already destroyed by flames. fire crews are trying to get to the scene, but they can't because so many roads are still impassable. in new york, so many people are st