The lights go out in New York: ONE MILLION without power and at least five dead as Superstorm Sandy sweeps through the Big Apple

By MARK DUELL, LOUISE BOYLE and RACHEL QUIGLEY
Underwater: The surge from New York's East River has flooded East 20th Street, turning the road into a river Much of New York was this morning plunged into darkness by a superstorm that overflowed the city's historic waterfront, flooded the financial district and subway tunnels and cut power to hundreds of thousands of people. The city had shut its mass transit system, schools, the stock exchange and Broadway and ordered hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers to leave home to get out of the way of the superstorm Sandy as it zeroed in on the nation's largest city.
The construction site at Ground Zero in Lower Manhattan has flooded as the waters rise Residents spent much of the day trying to salvage normal routines, jogging and snapping pictures of the water while officials warned the worst of the storm had not hit. At least five people were killed in storm-related incidents in New York state after trees fell on homes in Queens and New Salem, while three similar deaths were caused in New Jersey and one in Connecticut, reported CNN. A woman was also killed in a storm-related car accident in West Virginia.
Sailboats rock in choppy water at a dock along the Hudson River Greenway as one thousand more troops have been drafted in By yesterday evening, a record 13-foot storm surge was threatening Manhattan's southern tip, howling winds had left a crane hanging from a high-rise, and utilities deliberately darkened part of downtown Manhattan to avoid storm damage. ‘It's really a complete ghost town now,’ said Stephen Weisbrot, from a powerless 10th-floor apartment in lower Manhattan.
Cars were flooded in the Financial District of New York as Hurricane Sandy threatens 50million people on the East Coast Water lapped over the seawall in Battery Park City, flooding rail yards, subway tracks, tunnels and roads. Rescue workers floated bright orange rafts down flooded downtown streets, while police officers rolled slowly down the street with loudspeakers telling people to go home. ‘Now it's really turning into something,’ said Brian Damianakes, taking shelter in an ATM vestibule and watching a trash can blow down the street in Battery Park before the storm surge.
As flood waters surge, expected to rise to 10ft, nearly all bridges and tunnels into and out of New York are closed to the public Mayor Michael Bloomberg said last night that the surge was expected to recede by midnight, after exceeding an original expectation of 11 feet. 'We knew that this was going to be a very dangerous storm and the storm has met our expectations,’ he said. ‘This is a once-in-a-long-time storm.’
A person holds onto to a flooded car as the flood water rises in New York Shortly after the massive storm made landfall in southern New Jersey, Consolidated Edison cut power deliberately to about 6,500 customers in downtown Manhattan to avert further damage. Then, huge swaths of the city went dark, losing power to 250,000 customers in Manhattan, Con Ed spokesman Chris Olert said. New York University's hospital lost backup power, Mayor Bloomberg said. Late Monday, a bright orange explosion lit up the night sky on the east side of lower Manhattan, near a Con Ed substation. ‘It sounded like the Fourth of July,’ said Weisbrot.
Flood waters have overwhelmed the entrance of the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel as nearly all bridges and tunnels into and out of New York are closed to the public Another 1 million customers lost power earlier Monday in New York City, the northern suburbs and coastal Long Island, where floodwaters swamped cars, downed trees and put neighborhoods under water.
Flood water rushes into a below-ground carpark in New York's Financial District
Three friends make their way along a flooded street as the beginning effects of Hurricane Sandy are felt in the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn
People walk by sand bags in front of a building in Times Square as Hurricane Sandy begins to affect the area
Breaking through: Waves wash over the sea wall near high tide at Battery Park in New York on Monday morning
Businesses are closed and pedestrians walk through mostly deserted streets in the Soho neighborhood of Manhattan, New York, right, as the Hudson River swells and rises over the banks of the Hoboken, left
Flooding: A truck drives through water pushed over a road by Hurricane Sandy in Southampton, New York on Monday as the storm gathers speed
All major U.S. stock and options exchanges will remain closed on Tuesday, as will schools and the subway
Workers put sand bags out in front of a building in the Financial District as the beginning effects of Hurricane Sandy are felt in downtown New York
New York subways are closed for only the second time in history
Paula Buck carries her dog as she walks along a flooded street while evacuating her apartment as the early effects of Hurricane Sandy are felt in the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn
Waves crash over the bow of a tug boat as it passes near the Statue of Liberty as rough water as a result of Hurricane Sandy churned the waters of New York Harbor
Peter Cusack, center, and Mel Bermudez walk their dogs Teague, left, and Molly, along the Brooklyn waterfront beneath the New York skyline as Hurricane Sandy advances on the city
Some parts of the deserted streets showed early signs of flooding this morning just hours before the worst is expected to hit at 4pm
President Barack Obama called on Americans yesterday to take Hurricane Sandy 'very seriously', urging them to heed the instructions of local and state authorities
End of the line: The last few people make their way through Grand Central Station in New York as the subway shut down tonight for only the second time in history
All aboard? A subway worker looks up and down the platform as the subway shuts down at 7pm on Sunday night
No entry: Caution tape covers the entrance to the Times Square Subway Station
Heading home: A woman tries to find cell signal on the last subway shuttle from Grand Central Station
Taking cover: A boarded up Broad Street subway station across the street from the New York Stock Exchange
Stockpile: People try to get through the aisles at Whole Foods Market in midtown Manhattan
Packed: Customers wait in line to buy groceries at the Fairway super market in New York
Gathering: Shoppers stock up on supplies ahead of Hurricane Sandy in New York today source: dailymail
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