Parts of New York City were submerged under water higher than 13 feet, flooding a number of subway stations and causing blackouts for more than 600,000 people. The storm set off a massive fire in the Queens neighborhood of Breezy Point, destroying at least 50 homes. The Brooklyn-Battery car tunnel was flooded with water just hours after it was closed to traffic. The floodwaters also filled streets, submerging vehicles and even sending some floating downstream. At least seven subway tunnels were flooded beneath the East River, prompting the head of New York’s transit authority to call Sandy the most devastating storm in the subway system’s history. Dozens of patients were evacuated from the New York University Langone hospital after a backup generator lost power. President Obama has declared New York City and Long Island to be disaster areas, clearing the way for federal aid.