Now into  day five, Friday of the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy’s direct hit on the Northeastern United States and still millions are without power.The system was so large, its tropical storm force winds (39-73mph) went almost 1000 miles from its center. From its origins in the Caribbean as Tropical Depression 18, on October22 to Sandy covering not only the Eastern seaboard but reaching inland to the Great Lakes with reports of 15 to 20-foot waves on Lake Michigan only seven days later. Sandy may go down as the fourth costliest storm in U.S. History with, damage estimates totaling 50 billion dollars.

A satellite picture of Superstorm  Sandy on October 28th, just 24 hours before its fateful landfall on October 29th, 2012 when it marched ashore near Atlantic City New Jersey with winds of 90mph.

An estimated 4.1 million households and businesses

remained without power across the Northeast — an estimated 530,000 of them in New York — and authorities warned it could take a week or more to restore electricity for many. ABC News reported Con Ed expects to have all power restored in Manhattan by Saturday.

Looking at pictures of the devastation reveals the sheer power of the storms surge in places like Rockaway Beach New York or Atlantic City New Jersey. A record 14 foot surge combined with the new moon tides attributed to the flood damage in parts of Manhattan, New York.

Adding insult to injury in the clean up rescue and recovery efforts, The National Weather Service said Thursday a nor’easter could develop next week over the mid-Atlantic states into New England.

Superstorm Sandy led to power failures in at least 17 states. 95 U.S. deaths are attributed to Sandy with 67 dead in the Caribbean and two confirmed dead in Canada. At least 41 people were killed in New York City. At least 13 people died in New Jersey, and officials said they feared the toll would rise as additional home searches were conducted. Besides New York City and New Jersey other deaths are in:

• Maryland: 11
• Rest of New York state: 8
• Pennsylvania: 7
• West Virginia: 6
• Connecticut: 4
• North Carolina: 2
• Puerto Rico: 1

Subways and buses rolled again in some parts of New York City Thursday and mandatory water restrictions were in effect across New Jersey after Sandy.The stock market reopened Wednesday, but normalcy is not back by any stretch of the imagination across parts of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast.

The White House announced Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano will travel to Connecticut and New York to meet with state and local officials, and inspect response and recovery operations.

The storm sparked a fire that took down dozens of homes in Breezy Point, Queens. Mayor Bloomberg said more than 80 homes were destroyed by the overnight blaze that hundreds of firefighters struggled to contain on the western edge of the Rockaway peninsula.

Meanwhile with November 6th Presidential Elections around the corner election officials were ordering generators, moving voting locations and figuring out how to transport poll workers displaced from coastal areas as Tuesday’s presidential election became the latest challenge for states whacked by Superstorm Sandy.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo says New York’s trains and subways have been recovering from Superstorm Sandy surprisingly quickly.

Still, frustration is building in the region amid gas lines, food lines, ongoing power outages and even some reports of looting.