Families caught in the path of Sandy THE Loane family from Kesh didn't have to watch live TV footage of a New York City crane crumpling under the force of Superstorm Sandy's winds this week. They could see it as it happened from their Manhattan hotel window. Joy Loane and her family had travelled over to the Big Apple last week to see son, Brian, who is working in New York for a year. But as forecasters warned on Sunday that the superstorm was gathering strength, the Fermanagh family were among the millions of people bracing themselves for a rough night. At least 40 people are now known to have died as a result of the force of storms strong winds. Many homes were still without power yesterday (Wednesday) morning and the New York subway was to remain shut. On Monday this week US President Barack Obama declared a major disaster in New York state after Sandy, downgraded from a hurricane to a 'superstorm', hit the US East Coast. Residents living close to the construction site of a luxury apartment building had to be evacuated when the crane partially collapsed, close to the hotel where the Loanes had been staying. Speaking to The Impartial Reporter from New York on Tuesday, Mrs Loane said her family had been due to return home yesterday. However with trains, flights and buses still cancelled on Tuesday afternoon, she was unsure when they would get back to Fermanagh. "We had to stay in the hotel