Two and a half months after Superstorm Sandy made landfall in New Jersey, the U.S. Congress appears to be close to approving a relief package of tens of billions of dollars. Government workers, contractors, and volunteers on the ground are still in the midst of an extensive cleanup phase and welcome the much-needed funds as they rebuild homes, businesses, and infrastructure. While some of the estimated 230,000 cars damaged by Sandy's saltwater surge will soon be going up for auction, many are simply headed for the crusher. Gathered below are images of the ongoing cleanup efforts and those still suffering from the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.
Hurricane Sandy: 80 Days Later
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Tens of thousands of vehicles damaged by Hurricane Sandy are temporarily stored on runways and taxiways at Calverton Executive Airpark in Calverton, New York, on January 9, 2013. Insurance Auto Auctions Inc, a salvage auto auction company specializing in total-loss vehicles, acquired the cars and trucks that were damaged, destroyed or flooded by the storm and needed a place to store them. The company made a deal with the Town of Riverhead to lease the airport land and then the vehicles are auctioned online. #
Stan Honda/AFP/Getty Images -
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Some of the 15,000 storm-damaged vehicles, stored on runways and taxiways at Calverton Executive Airpark in New York, on January 9, 2013. Insurance Auto Auctions Inc acquired the cars and trucks, and made a deal with the Town of Riverhead to lease the airport land for parking space. #
Stan Honda/AFP/Getty Images -
Some of the thousands of storm-damaged vehicles, stored on runways and taxiways at Calverton Executive Airpark in New York, on January 9, 2013. The town of Riverhead is charging $3,200 a month per acre, and estimates it will earn $2.7 million by the time the auctions are complete. #
Stan Honda/AFP/Getty Images -
A large construction vehicle carries remnants of the boardwalk in Seaside Heights, New Jersey, on January 3, 2013, that was destroyed two months ago by Superstorm Sandy. #
AP Photo/Mel Evans -
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A resident picks up a trash can left on a sand covered street, two months after superstorm Sandy caused the damage in the region of Breezy Point in Queens, New York, on December 27, 2012. #
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Hundreds of residents of Long Beach, Long Island attend a "goodbye" ceremony for the town's historic wooden boardwalk, which was badly damaged in Hurricane Sandy, on January 5, 2013. Residents were given a final opportunity to say goodbye to the landmark boardwalk and to take a piece home before it was to be demolished and eventually replaced with a new boardwalk. The demolition is expected to take about a month. #
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A crane pulls the roof off of a house severely damaged by Hurricane Sandy in the Staten Island borough of New York, on January 14, 2013. Several Staten Island homes damaged beyond repair by Sandy are being demolished. The first city-facilitated demolitions started Monday. #
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Homes severely damaged by Superstorm Sandy bear warnings on Staten Island in New York, on January 10, 2013. The November storm damaged or destroyed 305,000 housing units in New York and more than 265,000 businesses were disrupted in the state. #
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A public works employee in Bradley Beach, New Jersey, dumps a truckload of discarded Christmas trees on the beach on January 14, 2013, as part of a project to rebuild dunes damaged by Superstorm Sandy. Bradley Beach came through Sandy in better shape than some other coastal towns in part because of its dunes. The governor had harsh words for oceanfront property owners along the Jersey shore who are refusing to let governments carry out protective dune projects because the work will affect their oceanfront views, calling them "extremely selfish and short-sighted." #
AP Photo/Wayne Parry -
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Mounds of mixed sand and debris sit on the side of the road as the cleanup process continues following Superstorm Sandy, on January 8, 2013, in Seaside Heights, New Jersey. #
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The Colombo's dogs, Jake and Jet, look out the window of the mobile home where they are living in the Broad Channel section of Queens, New York, on January 3, 2013. The Colombos are living in the mobile home while working on their house, which was damaged by Superstorm Sandy. #
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A demolition crane clears debris caused by Hurricane Sandy, near the Ferris wheel at Fun Town Amusement Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey, on January 7, 2013. Most of the town's boardwalk was destroyed in late October 2012 by the superstorm. #
Reuters/Tom Mihalek
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