The high winds and rain were only slightly more serious than a thunderstorm, but the amount of water that the storm pushed in from the ocean caused widespread flooding.

In Manhattan, a power station in the East Village was inundated and caused a widespread power outage downtown, knocking out streetlights and traffic signals. Even in the middle of Midtown the storm caused thousands of evacuations when a construction crane at the 1,005 ft tall One57 building partially collapsed near the top of the building, causing nearby buildings and hotels to be evacuated in the middle of the storm. Citywide, the number of customers without power was in the millions.

The worst destruction occurred when damage from the storm started a fire at Breezy Point, Queens that quickly spread through the neighborhood, burning down 111 homes.

In the subway, flood waters swept through the below-ground tunnels and salty water from the ocean caused corrosion to critical components. Repairs to the subway infrastructure are still projected to last through 2019