The US is marking one year since Superstorm
Sandy hit the US east coast, killing at least 117
people.
Sandy was the most destructive storm in the US since
Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
On Monday, historical immigration landmark Ellis
Island reopened for the first time since the storm
flooded low-lying areas in New York City.
But many communities are still struggling to rebuild
amid complaints emergency funds have failed to reach
the hardest-hit.
Still suffering
As of August, just under a quarter of the $48bn
(£30bn) earmarked for rebuilding had been committed
to local governments, according to Reuters news
agency.
Federal officials have
unveiled plans for a
second round of disaster
relief amounting to
$5bn for five states and
New York City, and they
pledged that the pace of
spending would pick up
after a slow start.
"In year one, we all
agreed the aid flowed
too slowly," Senator
Chuck Schumer, a New
York Democrat, told
reporters.
"The second year will be a lot better. The spigot is now
open."
The BBC's Nick Bryant says the shorelines of New Jersey
and New York still bear deep scars from Sandy, with
empty lots where family and vacation homes used to
stand, and businesses are closed down and boarded up.
Many owners are still battling to receive pay-outs from
their insurance companies, while others are still waiting
to find out whether they will receive compensation
from the government for wrecked properties that are
now uninhabitable.
"It is going to take years to rebuild," resident Aimam
Youssef, who lost his home in Midland Beach, Staten
Island, told the BBC.
"We should not be suffering like this after one year, we
should not."
Almost two-thirds of the people who applied for federal
disaster aid have not received any, our correspondent
says.
In New York City, as work repairing the last subway line
to be damaged by flooding continues, transit officials
were offering free subway rides on Tuesday from hard-
hit areas of the Rockaways and Howard Beach.
The damage caused by Superstorm Sandy is still visible
along the shoreline
Meanwhile, homes in Oakwood Beach, Staten Island,
have been bought out under a state programme that
promises to turn neighbourhoods wrecked by
Superstorm Sandy into perpetual green space.
Events are being held to mark the anniversary of the
storm, including a state-wide prayer service in New
Jersey.
At least 117 deaths have been blamed on Sandy in the
US, according to officials.
The storm also killed scores of people as it swept across
the Caribbean.
Millions of people were forced to flee their homes.
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