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As Hurricane Sandy slammed into the U.S. East Coast Monday (Oct. 29), her high winds, heavy rainfall and crashing waves wreaked havoc ashore.
Some of the worst structural damage walloped New York City, where a construction crane unhinged and dangled high above Manhattan streets, a building façade toppled, and numerous fires destroyed homes.
From North Carolina to Connecticut, at least 18 people were reported dead, millions were left without power, and multiple areas were heavily flooded Tuesday morning (Oct. 30).
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NASA Goes Project |
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A NASA video animation shows the progress of Hurricane Sandy as it approached the U.S. Eastern seaboard from Oct. 26 to Oct. 28
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Though downgraded from a Category 1 hurricane to a “super storm” after making landfall near Atlantic City, NJ, about 8 p.m. EDT Monday, Sandy's 2,000-mile impact was no less disastrous. Many states have been declared disaster areas, enabling federal aid to assist in storm recovery efforts.
Damage in NYC
“We expected an unprecedented storm impact … and that’s what we got,” New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in a news conference Tuesday morning.
As the flood waters subsided and damage began to be assessed, Bloomberg said conditions remained dangerous and he warned New Yorkers to stay indoors.
The city shut down its mass public transit systems hours before Sandy’s arrival and ordered mandatory evacuations of the city’s low-lying areas.
Crane Accident
Gusting winds from the storm caused a crane atop One57, a luxury high-rise in Manhattan, to sway, twist and dangle more than 1,000 feet above the ground around 2 p.m. EDT Monday, according to reports. The crane continued to swing and dangle 75 stories up 24 hours later.
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57UN / Twitter |
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This construction crane buckled from Sandy's high-powered winds.
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Meteorologists said winds reached close to 60 mpg at the time of the partial collapse, reports said.
Streets below were cleared and buildings nearby were evacuated, but no injuries were reported.
On Tuesday morning, Bloomberg said that the crane was considered “stable.” Engineers and NYC Department of Buildings officials were instructed not to attempt to fully secure the crane while gales continued.
“When the winds die down, they will try to get the boom and strap it to the building, then we could re-open the streets, and over a period of time, the contracting company will have to figure out a way to build a new crane on top and take that one down,” the mayor said.
Reports indicate that the crane was owned by Pinnacle Industries.
Before Sandy’s arrival, the crane had been set to an angle on the 90-story building, to move somewhat in the wind, as is customary in hurricane-prone areas like Florida, according to the New York Times.
Bovis Lend Lease is the construction manager for the project, which is being billed as one of the most prestigious addresses in Manhattan. The penthouse sold for $90 million earlier this year, reports say.
Fire Destruction in Queens
Miles away from Manhattan, in the small coastal neighborhood of Breezy Point, Queens, at least 80 houses were destroyed in a six-alarm blaze that engulfed the area, Bloomberg reported at Tuesday’s press conference.
Only minor injuries were reported; however, search and recovery missions remained underway in the area.
Firefighters told a local ABC news affiliate that flood water was chest-high on the street, and they had to use a boat to make rescues.
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WABC / CNN |
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Flooded streets and buildings on fire in Queens were captured in this screen shot from a local ABC affiliate. A six-alarm blaze destroyed 80 houses in the area.
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In one apartment building, about 25 people were trapped in an upstairs unit, and the two-story home next door was ablaze and setting fire to the apartment's roof. Firefighters said they had climbed to an awning to reach the trapped people and took them downstairs to a boat in the street.
The New York City Fire Department said the fire was reported about 11 p.m. EDT Monday.
A cause has not yet been identified, but the storm’s high winds contributed to the fire spread, reports note.
City officials said most people appeared to have heeded the evacuation order in the area. The neighborhood was in Zone A, which the city’s Office of Emergency Management had declared to be at the highest risk of flooding from Sandy’s storm surge.
Building Façade Collapse
Also in Manhattan, a four-story building façade collapsed about 6 p.m. Monday evening, exposing the inside of numerous high-end apartments.
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Meg Robertson / Twitter |
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The facade of this four-story building collapsed, exposing the Manhattan units.
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No one was injured; however, reports indicated people were inside the Chelsea apartments when the accident occurred.
Other similar building collapses were reported in Brooklyn and Queens, according to reports.
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