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
9:01 P.M. 
October 29, 9:45 p.m.
MTA Confirms Subway Flooding
October 29, Late Evening
Jane's Carousel In Dumbo
October 29, Late Evening
Backup Power At NYU Hospital Fails; Patients Evacuated
October 29, Late Evening
911 System Overwhelmed By Calls
October 29, 11:15 p.m.
Ground Zero Flooding
October 30, Midnight
East Village Flooded
October 30, 12:01 a.m.
Surge Receding
October 30, Overnight
Con Edison Officials Say Sandy Has Caused Largest Power Outage In Its History
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
Dramatic Footage Of Flooding, Fires In Breezy Point, Queens
October 30, 9:23 a.m.Rainbow Appears Over Gowanus Canal
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Before You Go
