Superstorm Sandy hits the US north-east - in pictures

Homes devastated by fire and the effects of Hurricane Sandy at Breezy Point in the Queens neighbourhood of New York Photograph: Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

A national guard humvee drives through floodwater on patrol in Ocean City, Maryland Photograph: Alex Brandon/AP

The flooded entrance to the Plaza shopping centre in Manhattan
Photograph: Allison Joyce/Getty Images

Fallen trees damage homes and vehicles in the Brooklyn neighbourhood of New York Photograph: David Boe/AP

Broadway Avenue in Pleasant Beach, New Jersey is littered with boats washed ashore by Sandy Photograph: Steve Nesius/Reuters

Debris left behind by floodwaters litter a street in Brooklyn Photograph: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Damage caused by Sandy in Atlantic City, New Jersey Photograph: Tom Mihalek/Reuters

Emergency personnel rescue residents from their flooded homes in Little Ferry, New Jersey Photograph: Adam Hunger/Reuters

Workers clear a fallen tree blocking East 96th street in New York's Central Park Photograph: Michael Heiman/Getty Images

A child surveys a flooded street in the Red Hook area of Brooklyn Photograph: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Cars float in a flooded underground carpark in the financial district of New York Photograph: Andrew Burton/Getty Images

Residents assess the damage caused by a fire at Breezy Point in the Queens neighbourhood of New York Photograph: Frank Franklin II/AP

Seawater floods the Ground Zero construction site Photograph: John Minchillo/AP

People take photos on a flooded street during a blackout in Chelsea Photograph: Andrew Kelly/Reuters

Paramedics evacuate patients from New York University Tisch Hospital due to a power outage. Photograph: Andrew Kelly/Reuters

Power outage in Manhattan Photograph: Allison Joyce/Getty Images

Rising water rushes into an underground parking garage in the financial district Photograph: Andrew Burton/Getty Images

A woman in a bathrobe jumps into a puddle in Times Square Photograph: Adrees Latif/Reuters

Lights from an NYPD police vehicle illuminate a fallen tree on 6th Avenue Photograph: John Minchillo/AP

Firefighters evaluate the scene at an apartment building where the front wall collapsed Photograph: Andrew Burton/Getty Images

Pedestrians walk past a submerged taxi in Brooklyn Photograph: Gary He/Reuters

Water rushes into the Carey Tunnel (previously the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel) in the financial district Photograph: Andrew Burton/Getty Images

A blacked-out New York City skyline Photograph: Gary He/Reuters