Storm Sandy: Your stories

Marie Telling: The workers pumping water out a sewer in New York said this could take days

Wednesday 17:00 EDT (21:00 GMT) Ventnor City, near Atlantic City, US

Jack Dziegrenuk in a flooded Ventnor City

Jack Dziegrenuk: We are right near Atlantic City - pretty much the same island in New Jersey.

We are stuck in our house and our power has gone off. But luckily we have a generator.

I am glad the president came to our area. I didn't see him personally but we did see some limos drive passed and wondered if he was in one of them.

We chose not to leave our home, but a lot of people in this area are leaving now. We're not leaving because if we do we will not be allowed back in.

We got a lot of bad tidal flooding in our area and that's what has caused the damage.

There is so much water and sand all over the streets.

Wednesday 16:00 EDT (20:00 GMT) Brigantine, New Jersey, US

William Gresham: I fled my home the day before Sandy made landfall, and now what I really want to know is exactly how the house I live in fared.

The same is true for other residents who evacuated but we can't re-enter because there is a driving ban in effect for the seaside towns.

We all have been in contact with each other on Facebook and by mobile phones, so we on the outside have a measure of the devastation. We are just waiting until we can go back to see the damage for ourselves.

Wednesday 12:00 EDT (16:00 GMT) Little Silver, New Jersey, US

Neil Houston: We are trying to get things moving here again, but it's not easy. There are trees and power lines down all around this area and we are without power.

We have been told that we could remain without power for another week to 10 days. We are OK for food but it is hard to get around as there is no petrol in the local gas stations.

Up to 95% of people across this county - Monmouth County - are also without power, which is about 1m people.

Wednesday 08:30 EDT (12:30 GMT) New York City, US

Kim Wall sent this picture of a fallen tree outside a house on Broadway, New York City

Stephen Jordan: I live in the Rockaway Park area of New York, about five minutes from where many houses were burnt down.

We left on Sunday to stay with friends in New Jersey. The area where we are staying has also been affected, with trees down everywhere and much of the state still without power.

But it is nothing compared to the damage in Rockaway. I know who families who have lost their houses.

I am returning today to survey the damage. A friend has already gone to have a look at my house and says there is some damage to the outside, but it could have been a lot worse.

Other friends said yesterday that they couldn't find their cars. I'm not sure if they have found them since.

Wednesday 08:00 EDT (12:00 GMT) Atlantic City, New Jersey, US

Catherine Barde in Atlantic City found boardwalk pieces eight blocks away

Red Cross worker Catherine Barde: Atlantic City is still without power, there are many hazards and it is unsafe for people to return. Emergency workers are working hard to get the roads cleared, repair power lines, natural gas lines.

I went out to the historic boardwalk and visited surrounding communities - there's utter devastation there. Homes that are closest to the ocean site have been completely destroyed.

Pieces of the boardwalk have been completely washed away - the waves were that powerful!

Although the majority of the population has been evacuated, there are a few people who stayed behind. I spoke to a man who stayed with his father.

They have no power, they are running out of food and water and will be on their way to the nearest shelter. There are no services available in this large community and recovery is going to take a very long time.

Tuesday 17:30 EDT (21:30 GMT) West Virginia, US

Caroline Snyder's woodpile, stacked and ready to see out the snow

Caroline Snyder: It is below freezing at the moment with a howling blizzard but we are warm inside, courtesy of the wood stove. Snow is still coming down at the rate of one inch per hour.

So glad we were prepared. We split and stacked eight cords of firewood - plus we "processed" several large fallen tree limbs and we prepped the wood stove for the season.

We're operating the "one light on, one light off" policy right now and anything - chargers, DVD player, microwave are unplugged so no power wastage on "standby". I use the electric kettle to heat water for tea.

Freezers are full of our own pastured meats and our own peppers, berries and a whole bunch of other "home-grown" food - so we are not in bad shape.

Tuesday 17:00 EDT (21:00 GMT) Toronto, Canada

Jim Roche: Rain and high winds were the biggest problem here in Toronto on Monday night and Tuesday morning.

Tens of thousands without electricity. Restoration is happening slowly - very slowly considering the predictions.

Tuesday 11:00 EDT (15:00 GMT) Hoboken, New Jersey, US

Tuesday 09:30 EDT (13:30 GMT) Moonachie, New Jersey, US

People in Moonachie are staying at a nearby high school because of flooding

Rob Munoz: The whole of Moonachie has been flooded - some places are six feet under water.

I am helping out in the local high school, which is located a mile away from Moonachie. They are bringing lots of people here. We have about 200 to 300 people already.

I have friends who have lost their homes today, yet everyone is helping out other people.

Moonachie and Little Ferry fire and emergency teams have been working non-stop since midnight evacuating people from floods. High tide is right around now.

Tuesday 08:00 EDT (12:00 GMT) Atlantic City, New Jersey, US

Red Cross worker Catherine Barde: Last night was quite something!

Catherine Barde: It was calmer while were were in the eye

We were in the eye of the hurricane, but we were embedded with first responders, in a safe place and we were able to provide for the immediate needs of the community.

Most people were evacuated and roads were completely clear of any traffic, except emergency vehicles.

We experienced a fair amount of flooding and the city is without power.

Last night over 11,000 people stayed in 258 shelters across the country.

Tuesday 07:30 EDT (11:30 GMT) Staten Island, New York City, US

Sean Gorelik: My family was fortunate enough not to have been flooded, although many houses were flooded up to their roofs with people on top awaiting rescue - much like a scene from Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.

The weather conditions have improved vastly but it's still very cloudy and breezy.

There are no cars on the street and it's very quiet - it's just not normal for a Tuesday morning.

It seems the flooding was much worse than we were expecting.

Tuesday 05:30 EDT (09:30 GMT) Summit, New Jersey, US

Ross Cocheo: I am a British person working at a local hospital here in the IT department. We're all hunkered down and it has been pretty crazy.

Rajiv Kohli: The boardwalk by the shore in Belmar, New Jersey is gone

There are many trees and electrical wires down creating power outages throughout the city.

We had a walk outside last night and the road signs were down and whole branches were blowing down the road.

People have been sleeping where they can in the hospital as it survives on back-up generators.

Our ambulances have been out through the night and our emergency teams have been busy, but the larger hospital further away has been much busier with injuries.

Tuesday 04:30 EDT (08:30 GMT) New York City, US

Boryana Alexandrova: The FDR Drive is like a river at the moment

Robert Townley: I live in Battery Park City and work at a community centre in lower Manhattan.

Our apartment building is one of few that still has power in all of lower Manhattan, but our community centre nearby took in an incredible amount of water.

I just walked over to see the damage - the lower level of the building is flooded. Even now that the storm water has receded, the lower level is unreachable and submerged under at least 15 feet of water.

All the cars on the street are missing their windows, but we couldn't see any glass.

There's debris, plant matter and pools of brown water - it just doesn't seem like New York.

Tuesday 03:30 EDT (07:30 GMT) Maryland, US

Jan McNulty: I live in Southern Maryland, right off the Patuxent River as it flows into the Chesapeake Bay.

The wind and rain from Sandy began here yesterday and the worst blew through this evening.

My house is surrounded by 75-100 foot trees and these have been bending dramatically in the wind all day and through the night, and the rain has been intense.

I still have electricity and I'm amazed, it has been a miracle that we have yet to lose power (unlike last year when Hurricane Irene knocked out power here for four days).

It's still raining but I'm feeling safer than I did before.

Tuesday 00:45 EDT (04:45 GMT) New York City, US

The East River before Sandy's arrival

Dominic Fogarty: Here are a couple of before and after photos I managed to take at East 72nd Street, at the end by the FDR Drive.

The daylight photo was taken just before 13:00 EDT as Hurricane Sandy approached New York.

The East River floods FDR Drive

I then managed to capture the same stretch of road The night time at 20:51 EDT as the East River flooded FDR Drive.

The worst has past now and the waters have receded.

Lei Zhao: We experienced record levels of storm surge flooding, with the tidal gauge in The Battery topping out at 13.88 feet, a staggering 7.18 feet above flood stage.

Water was seen pouring into the World Trade Centre site, and the MTA confirmed that subway tunnels had been flooded as well.

Monday 22:00 EDT (02:00 GMT) Midtown, New York City, US

New York is plunged into darkness

Mark Jones: We only moved to New York from the UK a year and a half ago.

We're on the 49th floor of a building in Midtown, Manhattan. We have a clear view to Lower Manhattan and that's where we started to see large chunks of light going out as we looked towards Madison Square Park.

Our windows are blowing open, the lifts have stopped working and the building has been swaying gently which is unsettling. It's still raining but it has been easing.

Monday 19:00 EDT (23:00 GMT) Carteret, New Jersey, US

Joanne Best: Hurricane Sandy is due to hit us within the next few hours, many towns are flooded and a state of emergency has been declared state-wide, major roads closed and there are evacuations across the entire state.

Hurricane Irene caused my family home to collapse and we just moved back home two days ago. Sandy makes Irene look like a sprinkle of rain. There are power outages statewide, so far I still have power.

Parts of my town are under evacuation but all roads out of town are under water so we have no choice but to stay. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers, this is a huge storm and very frightening!

Monday 13:20 EDT (17:20 GMT) New York City, US

The wind is picking up in New York City

Multi-media journalist, Marie-Joelle Parent: Here you can see a man as he overlooks the Hudson River.

There is rising alarm in Battery Park City just a few hours before the arrival of Hurricane Sandy.

The area in Lower Manhattan has received a mandatory evacuation order.

The primary storm surge should begin to build at around 15:00 EDT.

Monday 10:30 EDT (14:30 GMT), Atlantic City, New Jersey, US

Catherine Barde: "The streets of are already flooding"

Red Cross worker Catherine Barde: We are in the line to be hit by the hurricane, which is anticipated to happen at 6pm. The streets are already flooding. There are no cars at all.

Yesterday the city was under mandatory evacuation. All residents were required to leave and move inland to safer accommodation. Last night over 4,500 people stayed in 190 Red Cross Shelters.

We are going to stay here throughout the hurricane. There are people who haven't left and we need to be here to provide disaster relief services.

We are well-supplied, we have a plan, we are in the best possible place and we feel safe in our location.

Monday 09:00 EDT (13:00 GMT), Bear, Delaware, US

Angela Dietrich: At the moment there is a lot of rain, some wind - pretty minimal though, and lots of water everywhere. We are told to expect higher winds later tonight and tomorrow morning.

We are very prepared for what's happening. We've got plenty of food, we made sure we got plenty of water. I am about to go out soon and fill the car with petrol, in case we might need to go.

We'll be on a standby, ready to leave. The plan is to go to my husband's parents who live in Iowa - hopefully they won't be affected and we'll be able to wait it out there.

Monday 08:00 EDT (12:00 GMT) Red bank, New Jersey, US

Monday 02:00 EDT (06:00 GMT), New York, US

The transport system in New York has shut down.

Sumeet Gajri: I live in the financial district in New York. I evacuated my apartment today because it is located in Zone A.

Normally I take predictions like this with a pinch of salt but the potential for the so-called Frankenstorm has meant that I have heeded Mayor Bloomberg's request to evacuate.

I thought it was essential that I did, given that the Hudson river is about 400m from my apartment building and the prospect of being left without electricity and running was a real concern.

Indeed ConEd have stated that downtown Manhattan will have electricity cut at some point today. The whole situation is being taken very seriously by both local authorities and other institutions.

Monday 00:40 EDT (04:40 GMT), Nottingham, Pennsylvania, US

Danna Cornick: We are located in southeastern Pennsylvania, about five miles from the Susquehanna River along the Mason-Dixon Line.

I'm old enough to have been through a fair share of storms and weathered most with nonchalance, but this one is frightening. Plus, hurricane Sandy is so vast geographically, there are many friends in harm's way.

Until now we have had nearly two inches of rain in the past 12 hours and rain is falling at a rate of 1/2 inch per hour. Winds are gusting at 20mph. By mid-morning tomorrow they are expected to be between 60 and 80mph.

Sunday 21.35 EDT (Monday 0135 GMT), Staten Island, New York, US

Elysia McColley: I am in New York City and had to try to get home quickly this afternoon before all of the public transportation closed. By the time that I got home it was already raining and the wind was blowing.

On Saturday the weather was pretty benign but it now feels colder and like it's starting already. I was hoping to run to the grocery store to stock up on some more essentials, but since the weather was already turning foul I went straight home.

I am hoping that the internet does not go out for more than a day or two because I am an author and do most of my work online.