Superstorm Sandy leaves 33 dead

13ft wall of water swamps New York

Devastation ... Damage caused by a fire in Queens, New York City

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.

Flooded ... yellow cabs submerged

Flooded ... Cars floating in a subterranian basement following Hurricaine Sandy

Deluge ... water reaches street level of the West Street entrance to the flooded Brooklyn Battery Tunnel

Uprooted ... New Yorkers pass a fallen tree in Manhattan

Washed up ... huge freighter was blown ashore on Staten Island near New York

ABC News

The storm caused the worst damage in the 108-year history of New York’s extensive subway system, according to Joseph Lhota, the chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

The full extent of the damage in New Jersey was being revealed as morning arrived.

Underwater ... floods pour into building site at Ground Zero

Deluge ... road in Brooklyn is turned into a raging river after floods

In all, about 50MILLION people could have been affected by the storm, with up to a million ordered to evacuate their properties.

Thousands of Brits are stranded were said to be stranded last night at gusts of up to 99mph battered the region as it was engulfed by a tidal surge.

Meanwhile, the lights went out in the southern part of the city.

Devastating ... huge waves batter Atlantic City as Sandy hits the US

Darkest hour ... much of Manhattan is left in eerie gloom after power outages

Eerily, the city WAS lit up as electrical faults ignited fires - this morning a massive blaze tore through more than 50 homes in the borough of Queens, New York.

More than 200 firefighters are battling the inferno. It is not known if anyone has been injured.

The water also flooded seven underground subway lines, putting them out of action, perhaps for some time.

Piled up ... Boats piled up by storm surge and the high tide lie in a pile at a marina in East Quogue, New York

Transport boss Joseph Lhota said: "The New York City subway system is 108 years old, but it has never faced a disaster as devastating as what we experienced last night.”

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said: “We knew that this was going to be a very dangerous storm, and the storm has met our expectations.