MNN - Mother Nature Network

Life-sized dollhouse

The inside of an apartment building is exposed to the night air after the facade collapsed under the stress of Hurricane Sandy on Oct. 29 in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan.

 

More than 20 people have died since Hurricane Sandy morphed into a massive "snor'eastercane" and barreled straight into the Mid-Atlantic coast. Violent winds and storm surges have downed countless trees, caused major flooding, cast millions of people into darkness and even set an entire neighborhood on fire.

 

Submerged tunnels

Water rushes into the Carey Tunnel on Oct. 29 as Hurricane Sandy storms through the Financial District of New York City.

 

At least 10 of the people who lost their lives were in New York City, and more than 80 houses were destroyed by a fire in Breezy Point, Queens. Because of the death toll and structural damage, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the storm was possibly the worst the Big Apple has ever seen.

 

Watery graves

Several cars float bottom-up outside of a flooded subterranean basement in the early morning of Oct. 30 following Hurricane Sandy's charge through the financial district.

 

More than 7 million people lost power in states as far south as North Carolina and as far north as Maine. About 1.7 million of those who lost power reside in New York, making it the most extensive storm-related outage in the state's history, according to Con Edison.

 

Cleanup begins

A worker clears leaves from a clogged sewer drain on Oct. 30 in lower Manhattan.

 

In addition to massive power outages, New Yorkers must now grapple with a subway system currently underwater. Because the floodwater in the tunnels can't recede naturally, the Metropolitan Transit Authority must pump out the water manually before the trains will run again.

 

Downed trees and crushed cars

A car parked in the financial district is crushed by a tree the morning after Hurricane Sandy barrelled through New York City.

 

Making the most of flooded streets

A woman rides her bicycle on Oct. 30 through a flooded street in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn, N.Y., after the storm.

 

Aquatic mall

New Yorkers observe the flooded steps leading to the underground entrance of the Plaza Shops on Oct. 30 in Manhattan.

 

The remains of Atlantic City's boardwalk

A street sign stands amidst the remnants of Atlantic City's former boardwalk, which was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy shortly after making landfall in New Jersey.

 

Reflecting on what once was

Resident Kim Johnson inspects the damaged area around her flooded apartment building on Oct. 30 in Atlantic City, N.J.

 

Precarious power lines

A downed power line that was knocked over by a falling tree is seen next to parked cars in the morning of Oct. 30, just hours after Hurricane Sandy rolled through Chevy Chase, M.D.