Total Sandy-related deaths in the region is 97.
[Updated at 7:58 p.m.] The Defense Logistics Agency, at President Barack Obama's direction, will buy up to 12 million gallons of unleaded fuel and up to 10 million gallons of diesel to bring to the areas hardest hit by this week's storm, FEMA said in a press release.
Transported on tanker trucks, the fuel will head toward New York, New Jersey and other areas that are experiencing severe gas shortages in the wake of Sandy.
[Updated at 7:37 p.m. ET] President Obama has authorized tapping the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve and distributing that fuel to "state, local and federal responders in the New York/New Jersey area," the U.S. Energy Department announced.
The fuel - which is loaned by the Energy Department, who will pass it onto Defense Department - will help power generators, water pumps, buildings, trucks and other vehicles. About 2 million gallons of fuel will be drawn down, with the Defense Department expected to replenish the stock within 30 days.
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Why did it take so long? Rick Perry had tanker trucks of gas dispatched immediately during the Rita evacuations.