Coastal areas bear brunt of Sandy's damaging wrath

Before Hurricane Sandy knocked out power to New York's famous skyline or flooded lower Manhattan, the storm came howling into dozens of other communities across the Eastern Seaboard, bringing relentless winds, drenching rain and heavy, punishing surf.

 

A string of New Jersey's barrier islands were cut off from the mainland by storm surges. Crashing waves shattered part of a landmark fishing pier in Maryland. And dangerous winds forced the port in Portland, Maine, to close.

 

The danger is far from over. After merging with a cold-weather system just before making landfall near Atlantic City, the combined superstorm could still cause inland flooding and more widespread power outages as it spins along a path expected to take it over Pennsylvania before turning toward New England.