New York City and the sodden U.S. Northeast begins an arduous journey back to normal after mammoth storm Sandy went on a rampage that swamped coastal cities and cut power to millions.
In neighbourhoods like Breezy Point in Queens whole streets were razed to the ground, leaving flattened, burnt patches of land where houses used to stand.
Before & After
. NEW JERSEY, United States. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
. NEW JERSEY, United States. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
Before: The skyline of New York at night, almost a month before Sandy Hit. After: The day after the storm made landfall, the skyline of lower Manhattan, as seen from Exchange Place, was left mostly in darkness after a preventive power outage. The Goldman Sachs building remained alight.
. MATUNUCK, United States. Reuters/Jessica Rinaldi
There were scenes of devastation on Rhode Island wrought by superstorm Sandy hitting huge swathes of the nation's most densely populated region.
. QUEENS, United States. REUTERS/Adrees Latif
In the days after the storm fuel supplies were rumbling toward disaster zones as near-freezing temperatures descended on the U.S. Northeast. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg warned the city that it would be days before power was fully restored and fuel shortages ended.
. NEW YORK, United States. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
After two days of closure the New York Stock Exchange reopened.
September 2001 was the last extended period of time that exchanges closed. The New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq closed on September 11, a Tuesday, after the World Trade Center attacks and did not reopen until six days later, on September 17, the following Monday.
. QUEENS, United States. REUTERS/Adrees Latif
Three days of gasoline "panic buying" among storm-stricken New York area motorists led to huge queues outside gas stations.
Long lines formed outside even empty stations after rumors spread they would soon receive fuel deliveries.
1 / 13
Slideshow
. OCEAN CITY, United States. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
Waves crashed over a boardwalk in Ocean City, Maryland, as Hurricane Sandy approached.
. NEW YORK, United States. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
People pull their luggage through Times Square as Hurricane Sandy approaches.
. NEW YORK, United States. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
A woman stands in a street damaged by rising waters.
. RIVERHEAD, United States. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
A woman and child walk through an empty aisle in a supermarket.
. OCEAN CITY, United States. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
An Army vehicle makes its way down a flooded street.
. NEW YORK, United States. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
People congregate in front of a building that still has wireless internet access.
. NEW YORK, United States. REUTERS/Adrees Latif
Residents stand over vehicles which were submerged in a parking structure in the financial district of Lower Manhattan.
. BETHANY BEACH, United States. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
Zoe Jurusik, 20, paddle-boards down a flooded city street in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.
. BRIGANTINE, United States. REUTERS/Larry Downing
U.S. President Barack Obama hugs North Point Marina owner Donna Vanzant as New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (left) looks on.
. MANTOLOKING, United States. REUTERS/Steve Nesius
A tidal surge washed away a bridge connecting to the mainland in New Jersey.
. HAMPTON BAYS, United States. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
A dead deer is pictured with driftwood and debris in Southampton.
. Long Beach, United States. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton
Neighbors Lucille Dwyer (right) and Linda Strong embrace after looking through the wreckage of their homes in the Queens borough.
. QUEENS, United States. REUTERS/Adrees Latif
A man looks at his watch while waiting for hours to get fuel from a gas station in Queens.
FACTBOX: STORM SANDY BLAMED FOR AT LEAST 110 DEATHS
Deaths in the United States and Canada blamed on Sandy, the ferocious storm that tore across the U.S. East Coast this week, rose to at least 110 on November 3, 2012.
In New York City, police said the storm took 40 lives, a reduction of one from previous reports because of what the police department called the reclassification of some deaths that occurred during and after the storm.
About half the victims were on Staten Island, the borough that lies across New York Harbor from lower Manhattan.
Twenty-two deaths were reported by authorities in hard-hit New Jersey, and 13 in Pennsylvania.
The storm killed at least 69 people in the Caribbean, including at least 54 in Haiti and 11 in Cuba, before hitting the U.S. coast, authorities said.
The following are reported and confirmed North American deaths related to the storm. State authorities have said the numbers are subject to change. A decrease may occur if the cause of death is later deemed not to be a direct result of the storm.
New York state: 48 (40 in New York City and eight elsewhere in the state)