NY is battered and flooded by Sandy

Huge swathes of New York were left deserted and dark as America's largest city reeled under the full force of Superstorm Sandy.

As the storm moved slowly inland, millions along the US East Coast awoke without power or transport.

New York's financial heart in Lower Manhattan remained closed for a second day and seawater cascaded into the still-gaping construction pit at the World Trade Centre.

The storm killed at least 17 people in seven states, cut power to more than six million homes and businesses from the Carolinas to Ohio, caused scares at two nuclear power plants, and put the presidential campaign on hold a week before Election Day.

The massive storm reached well into the Midwest: Chicago officials warned residents to stay away from the Lake Michigan shore as the city prepared for winds of up to 60 mph and waves exceeding 24 feet well into Wednesday.

An unprecedented 13-foot urge of seawater - 3 feet above the previous record - gushed into lower Manhattan, inundating tunnels, subway stations and the electrical system that powers Wall Street, and sent hospital patients and tourists rushing for safety. Skyscrapers swayed and creaked in winds that partially toppled a crane 74 stories up, forcing 900 guests to leave a nearby hotel for safety reasons. A hospital had to evacuate 200 patients after losing its backup generator.

President Barack Obama declared a major disaster in New York and Long Island, making federal funding available to residents of the area.

As Hurricane Sandy closed in on the north-east, it converged with a cold-weather system that turned it into a monstrous hybrid of rain and high wind - and even snow in West Virginia and other mountainous areas inland.

Just before it made landfall at 8pm local time near Atlantic City, New Jersey, forecasters stripped Sandy of hurricane status - but the distinction was purely technical, based on its shape and internal temperature. It still packed hurricane-force wind, and forecasters were careful to say it was still dangerous to the tens of millions in its path.

Officials blamed at least 17 deaths in the US on the converging storms - in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Maryland, North Carolina and West Virginia. Three of the victims were children, one just eight. At least one death was blamed on the storm in Canada.