Residents of Staten Island, New York, express anger at the slow pace of emergency response efforts to their community after superstorm Sandy dealt it a crippling blow.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN IN PINK COAT SAYING:

"We just want everyone to know, we are hurting down here. We need help immediately!"

(SOUNDBITE) (English) UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN IN GRAY SWEATSHIRT SAYING:

"I think that we're not getting the attention because we are, you know, we are a working class neighborhood and kind of just like fend for yourselves kind of thing."

The number of dead in New York City rose to 40, police said.

At least 20 of the city's dead were found on Staten Island, whose southeast flank took the full brunt of the storm surge.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) STATEN ISLAND NEW YORK CONGRESSMAN, MICHAEL GRIMM, SAYING:

"The City Of New York right now is talking about getting water out of the Battery Tunnel and preparing for a marathon. We're pulling bodies out of water. You see the disconnect here?"

On Thursday, New York Police and Fire departments were still going house to house, to account for those who did not follow the mandatory evacuation order.

As families picked through the wreckage, one woman said she lost everything.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN IN BLUE SWEATSHIRT SAYING:

"I want to go home, but there's no home, i can't go home, and that's killing me. That's breaking my heart. I want to go home to my house."