Frankenstorm. Superstorm. Sandy. Whatever you want to call it, this extremely unusual severe weather event has wrought havoc on the lives of millions of Americans along the East Coast.


As Hurricane Sandy approached New York, meteorologists and armchair weathermen alike struggled to explain how such a freakish weather event could occur in late October. Everyone agreed it was dangerous though. When the storm hit, the internet was inundated with photos, videos, tweets, and shenanigans. Now that the immediate danger has mostly passed, the focus here has shifted to recovery, repair, and rebuilding. Many Verge staffers live in New York. We collected photos we found striking and took a few ourselves. These images offer a glimpse of what life has been like for the past four days.


Above: Lower Manhattan was plunged into darkness after a catastrophic power failure at a Con Ed substation during the storm. (Photo: Nilay Patel)