Lower Manhattan HIT by HURRICANE SANDY
The effects of the superstorm that flooded parts of the city are lingering into Tuesday and likely will for much longer, with a large swath of the city out of power, subway and vehicle tunnels flooded, and the financial district closed for a second day.
A fire destroyed at least 50 houses overnight in Queens' flooded Rockaway peninsula and forced the rescue of about 25 people from an upstairs apartment. Officials weren't immediately able to pin down the cause of the blaze.
The storm was once Hurricane Sandy but combined with two wintry systems to become a huge hybrid storm whose center smashed ashore late Monday in New Jersey. New York City was perfectly positioned to absorb the worst of its storm surge — a record 13 feet.
"We knew that this was going to be a very dangerous storm, and the storm has met our expectations," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said. "This is a once-in-a-long-time storm."
Water lapped over the seawall in Battery Park City, flooding rail yards, subway tracks, tunnels and roads. Rescue workers floated bright orange rafts down flooded downtown streets, while police officers rolled slowly down the street with loudspeakers telling people to go home.
