NEW YORK, N.Y. - Superstorm Sandy left New Jersey's delicate barrier islands a hazardous wasteland of eroded shoreline, ruined beachfront homes, flooded streets and damaged utilities as a forecasting firm estimated the storm's total U.S. damage could run as high as $50 billion.

New York City was slowly coming back to life, starting with the partial reopening of vital subways Thursday, three days after the storm hit. However, neighbouring New Jersey was stunned by coastal devastation and the news that thousands of people in one city still stranded by increasingly fetid flood waters.

The forecasting firm Eqecat estimated the total U.S. damage at $50 billion, making it the second-costliest storm in the country's history after Hurricane Katrina. The estimate includes property damage and lost business.

Around the country, the total cost in human lives reached more than 90.

New Jersey's once-pristine Atlantic coastline famous for Bruce Springsteen and the TV show "Jersey Shore" was shattered. Some residents finally got a look at what was left of their homes: Sandy wrecked houses, businesses and boardwalks.

And warnings rose again about global warming and the prospect of more such severe weather to come.

"The next 50 to 100 years are going to be very different than what we've seen in the past 50 years," said S. Jeffress Williams, a scientist emeritus at the U.S. Geological Survey's Woods Hole Science Center in Massachusetts. The sea level is rising fast, and destructive storms are occurring more frequently, said Williams, who expects things to get even worse.

Across the Hudson River from New York City, the floodwaters were slowly receding in the city of Hoboken, where an estimated 20,000 people had remained in their homes. The National Guard was helping with evacuations, but residents were warned not to walk around in water that was tainted with sewage and chemicals from the heavily industrial region.

New Jersey residents across the state were urged to conserve water. At least 1.7 million customers remained without electricity there, and fights broke out as people waited in long lines for gas.

In New York, the decision to reopen undamaged parts of the United States' largest transit system came as more than 4.6 million homes and businesses were without power down from a peak of 8.5 million.

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Superstorm Sandy leaves New Jersey's delicate barrier islands a hazardous wasteland