New York braces for Sandy NEW: Red Cross reports sheltering more than 3,200 people in nine states (CNN) -- Beth Bartley clutched anything she could as she sat on the floor of her shuddering Manhattan building. The superstorm knocked power out. And she was trapped on the fifth floor in darkness as the usually sturdy building trembled. This is one of the many harrowing stories that are being told about Sandy, a storm that has even veteran weather watchers scratching their heads, marveling at its power. This is the most unusual storm I've ever chased. We'll probably never see anything like it again in our lifetime," said Reed Trimmer, a XXX storm chaser. This is a nor'easter on steroids. Trevor Mann was one of the few people in his area of Ocean City, New Jersey who did not heed emergency evacuation orders. And by Monday evening he may have wished he had. He watched as the eye of storm the passed over his coastal city and the flood waters rushed like a relentless linebacker. Rushing waters made seem to make beach houses disappear. "I am not going outside," said Mann. But when people do go outside the clean up is going to be tremendous and there is going to be a lot of damage. Shahir Daud was watching the lights go out in his Upper East Side New York neighborhood, hoping that his place would not be next. He watched as dark waters from the East River submerged parts of Franklin D. Roosevelt East River Drive. But by late Monday evening it seemed that the worst of the storm had passed his neighborhood. And the 33 year-old filmmaker wondered when he would be able to get back to his job at MTV. "I work in lower Manhattan, I don't know when the (the trains) are going to run again," said Daud. " The lights are still on. Millions were not that lucky and were still in the dark, officials said. Another danger was the more than 60 mph wind gusts that were predicted to batter a large number of northeastern states. CNN iReporter Earl Bateman, a stock broker, who has lived in New York for 30 years said he saw something he never saw before Monday. Brooklyn was hard hit also said Borough President Mark Markowitz., with many without power. We have many more hours and many more days of restoring this great city . It is going to take the effort of a all of us collectively to restore this great city," Markowitz said. In sothern Vermont, Ireporter Caleb Clark said he felt the howling winds and his town was also battered by rain. On Monday, most in his neighborhood in the town of Brattleboro had taken shelter and less than 500 had lost power, Clark said. It was was his son's Shaw's 6-month birthday and the family spent it listening to weather reports about downed trees and closed roads. Little Shaw may have been one of the few smiling as Sandy continues to bear down. CNN's Tom Watkins, Josh Levs, Jareen Imam, Sarah Brown and Chelsea Carter contributed to this report.