Telecoms start checking storm damage

NEW YORK — Phone and cable companies started assessing the damage in the storm-hit areas of the East Coast on Tuesday amid widespread reports of phone outages in flooded areas.

Cablevision Systems Corp., which serves parts of Long Island, New York City and New Jersey, says it’s experiencing widespread outages due to the loss of power. Verizon Communications Inc., the biggest phone company in the region, says some facilities in downtown Manhattan are flooded, shutting down phone and Internet service. The company doesn’t yet know the extent of outages in New Jersey, which bore the brunt of the storm.

Time Warner Cable Inc., the other big New York-area cable company, said it had no reports of significant damage to its network, but customers without power obviously had no cable service.

AT&T Inc. says there are “issues” in hard-hit areas, and it’s in the early stages of checking for damage and restoring service.