Salvaging photographs - and memories - damaged by Sandy

When Sandy hit the US in October 2012 the storm caused floods and fires which destroyed thousands of homes in New York and New Jersey.

As residents try to rebuild their lives, a non-for-profit charity called "Operation Photo Rescue" has been helping them to salvage treasured memories by restoring photographs damaged in the natural disaster.

People from Breezy Point, the Rockaways, Staten Island and other affected areas brought photos to a weekend event hosted by the School of Visual Art of New York.

The images range from weddings and childhood portraits, to political campaigns, pets, parrots and ancestors in cowboy hats.

It helps people to "get back their memories", the charity's president Margie Hayes says.

The charity was created by two photojournalists in 2006 after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans. It now counts 2,000 volunteers from across the globe.

Volunteers from all 50 US states and 76 other countries have returned over 9,000 restored photos to survivors of hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, and wildfires.

Produced by Anna Bressanin, Images by Ilya Shnitser