Powerful photos of the devastation and aftermath of Hurricane Sandy around New York City

posted Tuesday, October 30, 2012 at 10:13 AM EDT

Hurricane Sandy walloped New York City and the upper Atlantic coast yesterday, and along with leaving a trail of devastation in its wake it brought thousands of incredible photos showing the destructive power of Mother Nature.

We scoured government agency websites and social networks to compile the following images showing life before, during, and after the deadly storm swept through the New York City area.

MTA Chairman Joseph J. Lhota went to Lower Manhattan to see MTA storm prep work. Here he surveyed the entrance to the Bowling Green station. (Photo: Metropolitan Transportation Authority / Adam Lisberg.)

The MTA's Verrazano-Narrows Bridge was closed at 7 p.m. on Monday, October 29, 2012. This photo taken hours earlier shows the bridge as Hurricane Sandy's winds were building. (Photo: MTA New York City Transit / Vito Sicolo.)

A 180-foot sailboat, the HMS Bounty, sunk off the coast of North Carolina as Hurricane Sandy barreled down on the East Coast. A crew member was found dead and the captain is still missing. (Photo by the U.S. Coast Guard.)

Flooding in Beacon, New York (Photo: MTA Metro-North Railroad / Randall Fleischer.)

Flooding in Red Hook, Brooklyn. (Photo by Nick Cope.)

Via @GreenPainting

A surveillance camera shows the PATH train station in Hoboken, N.J. flooded with water on Monday night. (Photo provided by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.)

Floodwaters from Hurricane Sandy enter the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel (former Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel) in New York City. (Photo courtesy of MTA Bridges and Tunnels.)