A woman from Newton Abbot today describes how she lived through superstorm Sandy as it lashed its way through New York.

Investment banker Samantha Mair rents an apartment in the Chelsea area of the Big Apple.

As President Obama declared the city a major disaster area, she said: 'I could see cars floating in water just a street or two over from my apartment. And when the power was lost, you could see only darkness up to Times Square, which was still blazing with light because it was on a different power circuit.'

She added: 'Walking around the lower part of the city is like being in a ghost town after dark.'