(MCT) — NEW YORK — With power slowly returning to New York and New Jersey and emergency fuel being rushed into the region, authorities turned Sunday to a potentially bigger problem in the wake of super storm Sandy: where to house the tens of thousands of people whose homes are no longer habitable.

With a freeze expected in some areas Monday and another, smaller storm on the horizon, the housing problem took on urgency. Even with power and fuel restored, many houses no longer have functioning heating systems, since flooding saltwater ruined many basement heaters and electrical systems.