text: A couple who lost their homes and were almost killed in Hurricane Sandy are celebrating a whirlwind of good fortune after winning more than $250,000 in the lottery. Mary Ann Diano was left homeless when the storms hit Staten Island, New York, in October 2012 - but now says because of Hurricane Sandy she has met the love of her life and they are buying their dream home together. The 62-year-old's home has lived in a trailer park in Connecticut every since the disaster where she met her partner Dennis Krauss, whose home in Brooklyn, New York, was also destroyed. Dennis Krauss and Mary Ann Diano said they plan to spend their winning on a new house. Both of them were left homeless when Hurricane Sandy wrecked havoc on the east coast of the US in October 2012 . The loving couple met after they separately moved from New York to a trailer park in Connecticut, after they lost their homes. During the storms Ms Diano had been swept away by the waves and clung to a tree for safety . The 62-year-old didn't evacuate during Hurricane Sandy because there was nowhere where she could bring her cats. She lost everything in the storm - but in its aftermath she met the love of her life and won the lottery . ‘Sandy left me homeless and alone and now because of Sandy I met the love of my life, I hit the lottery and we’re shopping for the house of our dreams’, the thrilled woman told the New York Daily News after she won $255,555 (£174,000). Ms Diano’s troubles first began when she stayed at home with her five cats during the storm brought on by Hurricane Sandy, which caused chaos when it hit 24 states in the US. As the water began to fill her house she stepped outside and was swept away by a huge wave before landing in the high branches of a tree – saying she feared she was going to die. She was hauled to safety by a kind stranger, who saw she was about to touch a live wire and risk being electrocuted. The loving couple said they don't consider the winnings as money - but as the chance for a new start and home . Sandy left Ms Diano homeless and alone, she said - but it also brought her the love of her life and a lottery wn . Ms Diano was reunited with her cats but lost her home, and went to live in a Connecticut trailer park after winning a year’s rent-free accommodation in a church raffle. There she met Mr Krauss, who had also lost his home in Brooklyn, New York, in the storms, and the homeless pair began a relationship. She won the lottery last October after buying it from a gas station, but decided not to cash it in until April 6 – the day after Easter – as a symbolic sign of a new beginning. Reliving the moment she knew her life had changed, she told the Daily News: ‘I ran outside to Dennis waiting in the car and told him we won. The hurricane destroyed homes as it swept through New Jersey (pictured), including Ms Diano's home . He said, ‘If you’re busting my chops, I’ll kill ya.’ I showed him the ticket. ‘We hugged. We kissed. I wept.’ Mr Krauss said they didn't consider the winnings as money but the chance for the start of a new life together in their own home, . 'We don’t consider it money. We consider it a home. It’s a home', Mr Klaus told the News 8 channel. 'It’s not to be spent. It’s where we’re going to live together and start a new life.'
target: Pair were left homeless after storms and met in Connecticut trailer park .
  Won lottery last year but only cashed prize in after Easter to mark new start .
  'Because of Sandy I met the love of my life', said thrilled lottery winner .