On October 29, 2012, Hurricane Sandy made landfall in the Mid-Atlantic region. The devastation she brought to the New York and New Jersey was widespread and unimaginable. Though warnings had been issued for days and many evacuated their homes and offices, thousands stood in the path of one of the strongest storms in the history of America. Winds on Long Island reached 90 mph. Large sections of Lower Manhattan flooded. Fire in Queens destroyed more than 100 buildings. In New Jersey, 2.6 million homes were without people and nearly 40 people were killed. A 50-foot piece of the Atlantic City Boardwalk washed away and half the city of Hoboken was under water. Hundreds of thousands were left without power and water, with dwindling food supplies. Amidst this devastation, Sandy inspired courage and hope in many New Yorkers, giving them the will to triumph against incalculable odds. Seeking shelter and the basic necessities of life, thousands continued to fight to simply survive the harshest of conditions and help others do the same. These gripping moments of ruin and recovery are captured in Sandy : A Story of Complete Devastation, Courage, and Recovery , which features award-winning stories and nearly 100 vivid, full-color images from the New York Post . A portion of the proceeds from the sale of each book will be donated to the Mayor’s Fund for New York City and Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund. The New York Post chronicles the triumphs and tragedies of New York City through a bold, irreverent, and edgy tabloid design that readers know and love. Founded in 1801 as the New-York Evening Post , it is the nation’s oldest continuously published daily newspaper. Sandy A Story of Complete Devastation, Courage and Recovery By Joe Funk Triumph Books Copyright © 2013 New York Post All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-60078-918-2 Contents Introduction by Andy Soltis, Part I. Bringing Hell and High Water, Part II. Brooklyn & Queens, Part III. Staten Island, Part IV. Manhattan, Part V. New Jersey, Long Island and the Region, Part VI. Recovering and Giving a Helping Hand, CHAPTER 1 Sandy Slams New York Area Mass Floods, Outages Wreak Havoc By David Seifman, Sally Goldenberg and Dan Mangan Hurricane Sandy blasted the New York area on Monday, October 29, 2012. The storm, its winds flirting with 100 mph, unleashed a wave of devastation from which it could take weeks to recover. In flooded lower Manhattan, water gushed into the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel and cars were floating in the streets. There was no dry land anywhere in the Rockaways, where cops in the 100th Precinct station house were trapped on the building's second floor. As Sandy reached land near Atlantic City, it was downgraded to a tropical storm after its winds weakened slightly. The punishing storm: • Killed a 29-year-old man in his Flushing, Queens, home when a tree fell into the building. The victim, Tony Laino, was found in his bedroom by three neighbors who went to rescue him. The branch that fell on him was at least three feet wide. Witnesses said the victim's devastated dad was crying out for his son. The family has lived there for more than 20 years. • Claimed the lives of three children, at least two whom were killed when a tree fell in North Salem. • Caused the death of woman, who was electrocuted after stepping into a puddle on 105th Avenue in South Richmond Hill. • Left NYU Langone Medical Center dark after backup generators failed. Patients had to be moved to other facilities. • Generated a storm surge worsened by a higher full-moon tide, with the peak of the flooding engulfing lower Manhattan and other low-lying areas at 8 p.m. • Forced the MTA to continue its crippling closure of all trains, buses and subways until at least tomorrow. All flights have been canceled from area airports, and the flood-prone Brooklyn Battery and Holland tunnels were shut down indefinitely. • Knocked out power to at least 448,000 city customers by last night — 250,000 in Manhattan. Most were below 39th Street. • Left more than half of Long Islanders without power as 650,000 people had outages as of 8 p.m. last night. • Led to forced evacuations for up to 375,000 people from low-lying areas in New York's Zone A — although some refused to leave their homes. More than 3,000 people were in city emergency shelters by midday. Gov. Cuomo deployed about 2,000 National Guard troops to deal with Hurricane Sandy's fury. He warned there may be prolonged power outages because Sandy was affecting "potentially the entire Eastern Seaboard" — meaning fewer crews will be able to leave their home states to help New York. Sandy's storm surge could break the record of 10 ½ feet set by Hurricane Donna in 1960, said state Operations Director Howard Glaser. Tropical Storm Irene in 2011 had a 4-foot storm surge that rose to a maximum of 9 ½ feet. On Coney Island, Chmi Gaiger stood marveling at the roiling, white-capped Atlantic before Sandy's full force was