President Obama visits stricken New Jersey

 President Obama and New Jersey Governor Christie inspect coastal communities devastated by Superstorm Sandy.  

Story by NBC News

Written by Miguel Llanos

President Barack Obama was in New Jersey surveying its battered coastline on Wednesday, as the State and 15 others dealt with cleanup and power outages two days after Superstorm Sandy tore through.

Obama boarded a helicopter for an aerial survey with N.J. Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican and vocal backer of presidential challenger Mitt Romney who nevertheless has praised Obama and the federal response to the storm.

Christie earlier said he would ask the president to task the Army Corps of Engineers with how "to rebuild the beach to protect these towns."

But, he added, "it won't be the same because some of the iconic things are washed into the ocean."

Christie on Wednesday ordered that Halloween trick-or-treating be moved to Monday due to unsafe conditions. Aerial footage of the coastline Wednesday morning showed mile after mile of destruction: a neighborhood on fire, others swamped by sand and evacuations still happening in places with high water.

Recovery operations on Wednesday got a boost from the Navy, which ordered three helicopter carrier ships to the New Jersey and New York coasts, officials told NBC News.

The USS Wasp, USS Carter Hall, and USS Mesa Verde will provide landing platforms for Coast Guard, National Guard and civilian agency helicopters if needed, the officials said, adding that the Atlantic Fleet command made the decision in the name of "prudent planning."

Wall Street reopened Wednesday, as did some airports, but 6 million homes and businesses -- two thirds in New Jersey and New York -- were without power Wednesday morning.
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