Last Monday night, Hurricane Sandy slammed into the northeast coast of the US with an unprecedented force, leaving a trail of destruction that will require weeks of repair and billions of dollars to fund.

After being sick for several days, I decided to take my feeble body to one of the disaster areas and volunteer my time in digging some folks out.

As we approached the northern shore, we followed convoys of army vehicles, as well as hundreds of electric trucks that had made the trek from as far away as states like Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Illinois.

Miles of cars were lined up for gas; others filed in queue at Burger King.

We passed the check point, showing my friend’s resident ID, and we drove into the devastation, which resembled a war zone.

Most houses in this area lost the first floor to the surge. The beach reclaimed most of the city.  Water lines marked the flood at about 11 feet high.

So, I spent two entire days filling a dumpster with water damaged possessions, shoveling, sand, and taking photos for insurance purposes.

Fortunately my friends suffered minimal damage from the storm, but many others were not so fortunate. Some neighbors lost everything.

Some religious crazies have blamed the storm on the various groups that they like to scapegoat. Now is not is not time to be mean and vicious but rather to encourage, help, and rebuild.

See more images that I shot here.