Before-and-After Aerial Shots of New Jersey's Destroyed Neighborhoods

Scientists have had a couple days now to study Monday's mega-storm that, when it made landfall in New Jersey, was packing more energy than Hurricane Katrina. One of the things they're doing is flying over the East Coast to examine the extent of Sandy's destruction. Using a special remote camera, they're compiling a cartography of misery that illustrates why this storm could wind up costing America an incredible $50 billion.

These before-and-after shots are similar to the photos of tidal carnage that surfaced last March after Japan's tremendous Tōhoku tsunami. Charming beach communities are replaced with badlands of timber and sand, lots and lots of fusty sand that once sheltered crabs and sea lice. It's like a vengeful deity wiped a colossal paw through entire neighborhoods, removing whole blocks of houses and thousands of happy futures.