Superstorm Sandy leaves 33 dead

MILLIONS across the US woke to scenes of devastation this morning after Superstorm Sandy smashed into New York City and left 33 people dead across several states. US President Barack Obama declared that New York had been hit by a “major disaster” after the monster winds sent a record-breaking 13ft surge of seawater into Manhattan. The resulting floods caused untold damage, sending cars floating down Wall Street and plunging much of the city into total darkness. The gigantic storm is one of the largest to ever hit the US leaving more than 8MILLION people across the US eastern seaboard without power, causing scares at two nuclear power plants and stopping the presidential campaigns. Across New York a power station exploded, a hospital was evacuated and huge fire in Queens destroyed between 50 to 80 homes. More than 750,000 New Yorkers have been left without power by the huge storm. The Con Edison power company said 500,000 homes in New York City were without electricity - saying the cause was an explosion at a sub-station on the east side of Manhattan’s Midtown at the height of the storm. Film of the explosion has been widely viewed on YouTube. Heavy rain and further flooding remain major threats over the next couple of days as the storm makes its way into Pennsylvania and up into New York State. British nationals caught up in one of the worst storms to hit the East Coast of the US for a generation have spoken of the chaos across the Atlantic. Winds of up to 85mph slammed into the coastline late last night and hurled a record-breaking 13ft surge of seawater at New York City, causing extensive flooding and leaving at least 250,000 people without power. There have been reports of a more than 10 fatalities, including a man whose house was hit by a tree in the Queens borough of the city and two people killed in the state of New Jersey further down the coast. British holidaymaker Tony Lee, who was holed up in an apartment building in Brooklyn overnight, described the ferocity of the storm - which was downgraded from a hurricane to a post-tropical cyclone.