Widespread gas shortages stirred fears among residents and disrupted some rescue and emergency services on Thursday as the New York region struggled to return to a semblance of normalcy after being ravaged by Hurricane Sandy.<\/p>\n
Tiny increments of progress \u201d\u201d some subway and bus lines were back in service \u201d\u201d were overshadowed by new estimates of the storm\u2019s financial cost, struggles to restore power, and by the discovery of more bodies in flooded communities.<\/p>\n
The lines of cars waiting for gas at a Sunoco here ran in three directions: a mile-long line up the Garden State Parkway, a half-mile line along Vauxhall Road, and another, including a fleet of mail trucks that needed to refuel before resuming their rounds, snaking through a back entrance. The scene was being replayed across the state as drivers waited in lines that ran hundreds of vehicles deep, requiring state troopers and local police to protect against exploding tempers.<\/p>\n