Hurricane Sandy video: Transformer explodes in Manhattan

MANHATTAN — A massive explosion rocked a Con Edison plant near East 14th Street and the FDR on Monday evening as Hurricane Sandy continued to batter New York City.

Area residents shared photos and video footage of the explosion, which plunged much of the neighborhood into darkness, via social media websites shortly after it happened.

A New York camera operator has filmed a transformer erupting in a huge ball of blue light in downtown Manhattan after Hurricane Sandy made landfall.

Shot from across the East River in Brooklyn, the video posted online shows a series of bright blue flashes illuminating the sky from explosions at the Con Ed (Consolidated Edison) power plant.

Con Ed has announced that it has already shut off power to customers to part of Lower Manhattan so it can be restored faster after the storm passes.
Much of Manhattan is now without power, with millions of homes elsewhere also facing blackouts.

Water levels are now at record highs in the city, with the Fire Department of New York headquarters evacuated by boat.

The sea surged a record of nearly four metres at the foot of Manhattan.