It's been a long couple of days for residents along the East Coast of the United States.

First, they prepared for Hurricane Sandy's arrival, amid claims it was the "perfect storm"—filling sandbags, boarding up buildings and buying supplies over the weekend.

On Monday, as Sandy approached the Northeast, the winds picked up and officials began evacuations and last-minute preparations, while businesses closed early to avoid the brunt of the superstorm.

As residents on the East Coast hunkered down in their apartments and homes, Sandy's wrath battered beach towns, flooded city streets—including Manhattan and Hoboken—in unprecedented ways, and brought down gigantic trees on homes and roads, killing some and creating havoc for others.

Although no image can really express what many felt first-hand, here are some of the most dramatic of Sandy's travels from Virginia to New York, as featured on Patch.