After battling the perils of floods and winds from Hurricane Sandy, storm-related fires destroyed at least 50 homes in a flooded neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens.
Hundreds of fire fighters were at the blaze in the Breezy Point section to bring the fires down which have caused minor injuries to two people so far. The fire breakout was first reported around 11 p.m. in an area flooded by the super storm Sandy.
The Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) later tweeted "QNS 6-6 BREEZY POINT FIRE, 50+ HOMES COMPLETELY DESTROYED BY FIRE."
The whole neighborhood was completely engulfed in flames and surrounded by nearly 200 firefighters. The Observer reported that there were a dozen major fires sparked by Hurricane Sandy and multiple explosions were coming from ehicles. According to WABC-TV, water was chest high on the street and the fire fighters had to use a boat to make rescues.
The neighborhood is on the Rockaway peninsula jutting into the Atlantic Ocean. It was among the other New York City neighborhoods that had been under a mandatory evacuation order as Sandy arrived. However, WABC-TV reports that not many obeyed the evacuation orders. As a result, as many as 40 people had to be rescued by firefighters from homes before the fire, driven by 70 mph (112 kmh) winds, engulfed them.
