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The Night Hurricane Sandy Hit New York City

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BLACKOUT NEW YORK CITY
The New York skyline remains dark Monday, Oct. 29, 2012, as seen from the Williamsburg neighborhood in the Brooklyn borough of New York. In an attempt to lessen damage from saltwater to the subway system and the electrical network beneath the city's financial district, New York City's main utility cut power to about 6,500 customers in lower Manhattan. But a far wider swath of the city was hit with blackouts caused by flooding and transformer explosions. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) | AP

October 29, 2012 started ominously in New York City.

President Obama had issued an emergency declaration for the state of New York late the night before. School was canceled across the city. A pre-storm surge had already caused severe flooding in Red Hook, Gowanus, and Hoboken. The New York Stock Exchange shut down. The subways too. The bridges were closed. So were the airports. There was a mandatory evacuation of low-lying neighborhoods. That afternoon, the wind caused a construction crane on a Midtown skyscraper to come loose. Supermarkets were crammed with people stocking up on supplies. New Yorkers weren't sure if this storm was going to be all it was cracked up to be, or if it was going to be just another Hurricane Irene.

At 5:55 p.m., Mayor Michael Bloomberg warned that Sandy was the "storm of the century" and that the time to evacuate was "over."

While Sandy largely spared some New York neighborhoods, it devastated others. Over eight million New Yorkers all have different memories from that fateful night, when Sandy's record storm surge slammed against the city's shore, causing billions of dollars in damage, plunging the city into darkness, and ultimately killing 43 people.

Below find a brief timeline of some of that night's most dramatic events.

October 29, Evening
Building Collapses In Chelsea
building

9:01 P.M. bridge October 29, 9:45 p.m. MTA Confirms Subway Flooding

October 29, Late Evening
Jane's Carousel In Dumbo
carousel

October 29, Late Evening
Backup Power At NYU Hospital Fails; Patients Evacuated
nyu hospital sandy

October 29, Late Evening 911 System Overwhelmed By Calls

October 29, 11:15 p.m.
Ground Zero Flooding
ground zero

manhatta

October 30, Midnight
East Village Flooded
east village

October 30, 12:01 a.m. Surge Receding

October 30, Overnight
Con Edison Officials Say Sandy Has Caused Largest Power Outage In Its History
power

Video Captures Explosion At ConEd Plant That Sends City Into Darkness

October 30, 2:29 a.m.
MTA Says System Could Take Up To Four Days To Recover
mta

Dramatic Footage Of Flooding, Fires In Breezy Point, Queens

October 30, 9:23 a.m.Rainbow Appears Over Gowanus Canal

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Staten Island Post-Sandy
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  • A yacht rests beside two homes after it was driven inland by flood waters, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012, in the Staten Island borough of New York. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses.(AP Photo/ John Minchillo)

  • Lisa Kravchenko, of Staten Island, stands amongst flood debris in her princess Halloween costume, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012, in the Staten Island borough of New York. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses. (AP Photo/ John Minchillo)

  • NYPD police officers perform a search in high grasses that were flooded during a storm surge, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012, in the Arrochar neighborhood of the Staten Island borough of New York. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses. (AP Photo/ John Minchillo)

  • Customers form a queue to fill their gasoline canisters, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012, in the Staten Island borough of New York. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses.(AP Photo/ John Minchillo)

  • Artur Kasprzak

    This undated photo provided by the New York City Police Department shows NYPD officer Artur Kasprzak, 28, who shepherded six adults and a baby to the attic in his flooding Staten Island home before losing his life when he returned once more to the check the basement Monday evening, Oct. 29, 2012 as superstorm Sandy struck. (AP Photo/NYPD)

  • A man waits for gasoline, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012, in the Staten Island borough of New York. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses.(AP Photo/ John Minchillo)

  • A NYPD police officer performs a search in high grasses that were flooded during a storm surge, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012, in the Arrochar neighborhood of the Staten Island borough of New York. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses. (AP Photo/ John Minchillo)

  • New York And New Jersey Continue To Recover From Superstorm Sandy

    NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 01: The John B. Caddell tanker is docked along the Staten Island water front while the Manhattan skyline shines in the background on November 1, 2012 in New York City. Superstorm Sandy, which has left millions without power or water, continues to effect business and daily life throughout much of the eastern seaboard. (Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

  • A vehicle is submerged after being carried into a swampy depression by floodwaters, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012, in the Staten Island borough of New York. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses. (AP Photo/ John Minchillo)

  • Rescue workers check a home for fuel leaks and other types of damage, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012, in the Staten Island borough of New York. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses. (AP Photo/ John Minchillo)

  • A woman stands in a street flooded by superstorm Sandy, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012, in the Staten Island borough of New York. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

  • A passenger inspects the water level around his vehicle as multiple cars drive through a flooded street, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012, in the Staten Island borough of New York. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses. (AP Photo/ John Minchillo)

  • Mike Cappucci, 46, of Staten Island, surveys the damage to his home after boats from a nearby harbor were driven inland by floodwaters, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012, in the Staten Island borough of New York. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses. (AP Photo/ John Minchillo)

  • East Coast Begins To Clean Up And Assess Damage From Hurricane Sandy

    NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 31: Debris and boats from Hurricane Sandy sit on the shore of Staten Island, on October 31, 2012 in New York City. The storm has claimed several dozen lives in the United States and has caused massive flooding across much of the Atlantic seaboard. U.S. President Barack Obama has declared the situation a 'major disaster' for large areas of the U.S. east coast, including New York City, with widespread power outages and significant flooding in parts of lower Manhattan and elsewhere. (Photo by Allison Joyce/Getty Images)

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