Police gather to tell a man to put out the road flare he found and was using as an impromptu flashlight while walking with friends in front of a darkened Flatiron Building in a section of Manhattan still in a blackout following Hurricane Sandy on October 30, 2012 in New York City. The storm has claimed at least 40 lives in the United States, and has caused massive flooding across much of the Atlantic seaboard. US President Barack Obama has declared the situation a 'major disaster' for large areas of the US East Coast including New York City. Credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images
Americans really do pull together in times of crisis. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and Southern California Edison will send crews to the East Coast to help with the recovery effort from Superstorm Sandy.
The L.A. City Council passed an emergency motion on Wednesday to allow LADWP workers to help restore power for the millions of residents who still have no electricity more than two days after the storm occurred. SoCal Edison is expected to send a fleet of more than 70 utility trucks and at least 120 personnel to affected areas. Crews who first responded to repair storm-ravaged power systems have been putting in 17-hour days and are in need of the additional support and resources.
Pacific Gas & Electric and San Diego Gas & Electric will also send volunteers to help with the recovery.
Guest:Don Boland, executive director, California Utilities Emergency Association
Brian Rokos, staff writer, The Press-Enterprise