Port of N.Y./N.J. Opens for Emergency Fuel Deliveries Following Sandy

The U.S. Coast Guard opened the Port of New York and New Jersey Thursday in order to get emergency fuel supplies to the areas hit hardest by Hurricane Sandy, the Associated Press reported.

The limited opening of the port is aimed at alleviating widespread fuel shortages and long lines at gas stations in New York and New Jersey, as well as Connecticut, said Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), AP reported. 

People waited in lines stretching several miles in New Jersey for fuel, including on the New Jersey Turnpike, news services reported.

About 60% of the New Jersey gas stations monitored by the motorist group AAA were closed, along with 70% on Long Island, the New York Times reported Friday.

The Coast Guard had shut down the port as a precaution against Sandy, which is being dubbed a “superstorm” for the way the hurricane meshed with an inland storm, causing widespread damage over much of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions.