The following slideshow highlights the surf and some of the destruction from Hurricane Sandy. This is only part of the story. Readers are encouraged to donate to the Red Cross to help out the thousands in the Northeast who have been affected by the deadly storm. Surfer Jon Rose also started a Waves for Water campaign to help rebuild the EC surf community. Photo: Jesse Wicker

"Best storm in 20 years," West Palm Beach, FL, pro Peter Mendia said matter-of-factly. "You gotta love surfing in your backyard." Photo: Nicola Lugo

"My dad was here for the [Ash Wednesday] Storm of '62 and said it was bigger yesterday," said Delmarva sentinel Colin Herlihy. "It reminded me of six- to eight-foot [Hawaiian scale] Off The Wall. Todd Elder, Raven Lundy [pictured] and I were the only surfers out. We will be in rocking chairs one day talking about this swell." Photo: Phildo

"Visitors left Hatteras Island to avoid being trapped when Hurricane Sandy washed through," reported Outer Banks photographer Ben Gallop. "At S-Turns/ Mirlo Beach, the berm was already eroded when the swell reached 26 feet at 15 seconds, washing it away." Photo: Kurt Kessler/Outer Beaches Realty

Chris Ward was probably the most visible visitor at Pumphouse during Sandy. Here's why. Photo: Nicola Lugo

"This spot is very hard to get to and the right was firing on Sunday," says Graham Hunt. "It's in NC. And it was tough to get photos because I couldn't stop surfing." Photo: Graham Hunt

Meanwhile, at least one North Carolina favorite looked for Sandy's friendlier face in the Caribbean. Rob Brown didn't find that, exactly. Chatarra, Puerto Rico. Sequence: gOnzo/Primera Hora

Surfline's forecasters froth as hard as anyone. "South Florida is the place to be today," reported Melbourne Shores, FL-based Mike Watson on October 27th. "Lots of spots going off. Still super windy here in Central Florida with eight to 10-foot++ surf. I'm heading south in a couple of hours. I hear [CENSORED] is six to eight-foot, breaking 75 yards off the beach and perfect." Photo: Gnargasm

A little less than a decade ago, Pumphouse turned on in a big way and inspired "East Coast Teahupo'o" claims. A lot of people laughed at the perceived exaggeration. Who's laughing now? Cory Lopez and South Florida's finest, rewriting history. Photo: Tony Arruza

ESM co-founder and EC photo legend Dick Messeroll isn't one to exaggerate. So when he says, "the waves here were best I ever saw in Florida and maybe about best ever on East Coast in 50 years of surfing and photography," we believe him. Photo: Greg Panas

"For the first time in my life," said Daytona Beach, FL, pro Jesse Heilman, "I saw world-class waves of consequence breaking on the same beaches I grew up surfing -- something Florida surfers dream about on a regular basis. Sandy was sweet enough to make it a reality, forever changing the way one looks at surfing on the East Coast. In the future I will immediately be drawn to any woman with the name 'Sandy'." Photo: Patrick Ruddy

Wait a minute: long-sleeve springsuit, Zinka on the beak, low-centered Tom Carroll-style tube stance... Is this an archival slide of Scott McCranels from the Halloween Storm of 1991? Nope, it's a digital shot of Jason Prince, during the Sandy Superstorm of 2012. Same spot, though. Hell, probably the same photographer. Photo: Tony Arruza

St. Augustine, FL, fixture Chris Ropero tweaked his shoulder after dragging his arm through a nine-hour marathon session at a dredging St. Auggie secret spot. It was totally worth it. After all, how often does North Florida look like this? Photo: AJ Neste

"Dude, it was fu**ing amazing!" added Tupat. "Mike Railey, the founder and inventor of the WaveJet, said it was the best surf he had ever seen in his life. Cory and Shea and Chris Ward [pictured] saw Ft. Lauderdale Harbor at 20 to 25-feet on Sunday. There's gonna be some footage of this swell on the ...Lost website really soon." Photo: Nicola Lugo; Video: Charles Dasher

"As of 5pm yesterday," reported New York photographer/shop owner Mike Nelson, "Sandy did not live up to the hype for the extreme weather, but the swell did not disappoint. Near epic up here: really big and offshore in the morning before getting too big and windy. By the morning: complete devastation in Long Beach and surrounding areas." Sam Hammer, on Sandy's good side in the Empire State on Monday morning. Photo: Mike Nelson/fullnelsonphotos.com

The structural damage to East Coast surfing beacons from Superstorm Sandy is still being tallied. For starters, you can count Avalon Pier in Kill Devil Hills, NC; Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, NJ; and O.C. Pier in Ocean City, MD, among the fallen. Meanwhile, in South Florida... Photo: Tupat

"It's not unusual to see a tropical cyclone in October," says Surfline's Mike Watson. "In fact, some of the strongest Atlantic tropical cyclones on record have occurred during this month. However, it is unusual to see the confluence of events come together to create a storm of this magnitude for the Northeastern U.S. An approaching middle latitude weather system interacted with Sandy, helping to maintain the storm's intensity while expanding the wind field out from the center. This made Sandy's effects far-reaching, well away from the center of the storm. Credit: NOAA

Cory Lopez, pumping at pumping Pumphouse. Photo: Greg Panas

"No phone, no car, no friends during Sandy," laughs New Smyrna Beach, FL, pro Aaron "Gorkin" Cormican. "I did that chick solo here in 'The Burna' (NSB) because all my friends forgot about me here...or they forgot how to use Facebook." Here's some of Gorkin's forgetful (and stoked) buddies, from left: Evan Geiselman, Shea Lopez, Jesse Heilman and Cory Lopez. Photo: Nicola Lugo

"Wardo and I didn't have a ski so we tried paddling for two hours," Evan Geiselman admitted. "Wardo got hooked up and started getting towed in. I finally got towed into a few but I wish I could've gotten more. I only got four or five waves all day. But Wardo put on an absolute clinic. I've never scored a hurricane or even chased one so this was the first hurricane I've really tried to score and it was the best surf I've ever gotten on the East Coast. It was pretty special." Photo: Nicola Lugo

"I still scored really good waves here in NSB, surprisingly," finished Gorkin. NSB's other side -- Ponce Inlet, way out the back. Photo: Tupat

"Ski guy Brain Kobosko "Munster" (pictured) and boat captain Jay Kobosko were a dream," said FLA photog Nicola Lugo. "They took us out there and worked all day for three days straight. Jay was putting his boat in some really gnarly places so I could get the best shots and Munster was picking the best waves all day. Munster was charging before I was able to get out there but I was able to get a couple of his waves. This was one of them." Photo: Nicola Lugo

"That was my first surf at South Beach," admitted Daytona Beach, FL, pro Jesse Heilman. "If I get it like that again, I'm moving down there. It's unlike any arena I've ever been to: the most beautiful girls I've ever seen scattered across the beach, a beachbreak comparable to a scaled-down blend of Puerto and France and a lineup full of psyched weekend warriors. Combine this setting with Sandy's perfect swell direction and size... and welcome to paradise." Sequence: Kris Kerr

A fullsuit? In South Florida? Yeah, well, you ever get washed up onto a tetanus-encrusted jetty with live wires spitting smoke and sparks at your superconductive ass? Neoprene's good for a lot of things. Photo: Nicola Lugo

"I went on a mission to North Carolina and got good waves," said New Jersey pro Sam Hammer before returning home, where Sandy made landfall. "Now it's time for Armageddon." Zero Hour in Atlantic City. Photo: Osirus

"Those were the best barrels I've ever gotten in Florida," exclaimed relocated Brevard County, FL, shredder Christian Marcher. "I've been living in Hawaii for six years now and I was still pretty impressed with some of the beatings I took down there on the Treasure Coast." Photo: Jason Hines

"After seeing imagery from the past four days and random mysto video clips," added Tupat, "I am thoroughly convinced that this was by far the most amazing swell of the modern surfing era of three generations deep. It was a thing of beauty." Peter Mendia. Sequence: Mike Jones/Azhiaziam

South Beach probably claims the slimmest swell window of any East Coast surf spot. The tubes, on the other hand, tend to be a little more open. Dillon Harrington. Photo: Gnargasm

Peter Mendia stands at well over six-feet tall. This barrel is twice that height and most certainly wider than it is tall. Photo: Jerome Mosetic; video: Charles Dasher

"I've never been part of a storm like this since I've been surfing," continued Heilman. "It was shitty to think about everyone up north getting smashed, while I was waking up to the best surf I've ever seen in Florida for three days straight." Photo: David Donovan

Words can never do a photo like this justice. Especially considering we don't know who the dude is. Surreal trim in North Florida. Photo: AJ Neste

You've seen what Sandy did for the beachbreaks, the inlets and the coquina rock novelties. What happens when power like Sandy's hits a bona fide open-ocean reefbreak? William "Chino" Sue-A-Quan knows the answer. Chatarra, Puerto Rico. Photo: gOnzo/Primera Hora

"We woke up yesterday morning in Ocean City, MD, with butterflies," said Virginia Beach step-off aficionado Raven Lundy. "It was pretty much a washout, 15-foot faces and looking like a river. Bay water was reaching the ocean and the carnage was unlike anything I've ever seen here on the East Coast: cars submerged, houses torn to pieces, junk everywhere. There were telephone poles, fences, OC Pier pilings...you name it, and it was in the lineup. We almost drowned a few times." Photo: Nick Denny

Apparently, Sandy and Chris Ward's tropical fling was so romantic, ...Lost is considering posting an encore video to their already-completed "Ward Stories" series. Photo: Tony Arruza; video: Charles Dasher

"I can hardly move!" said Wrightsville Beach denizen Tony Butler. "During Friday's marathon session, 8am-4pm, the crowd was thick. But when you know everyone out in the water [like Owen Moffett pictured here] the session becomes a reunion of sorts. It was one of the best days of the year, that's for sure." Photo: Benton Sampson

"Pumphouse was crazy," surmised Vero Beach, FL, pro Oliver Kurtz. "I was out with Mendia, and it was the biggest surf I've ever had on the East Coast." Photo: Nicola Lugo

Baggies in October, three shades of green in the water and a perfect barrel for you and your buddy right off the beach. Now we see why everyone wants to retire in South Florida. Pete Mendia, again, wave of the day at Reef Road. Photo: Tupat; video: Max Bressan