'It looks like Venice': 13ft of water washes over New York; 13 dead in US and Canada

At least 13 people have been killed in the US and millions are without power after Superstorm Sandy slammed into the New Jersey coastline and hurled a record-breaking 13ft surge of seawater at New York City.

Sandy knocked out power to at least 5.7 million people across the east of the country and New York’s main utility said large sections of Manhattan had been plunged into darkness by the storm, with 250,000 customers without power as water pressed into the island from three sides.