A Force of Nature: Watch the One57 Crane Be Bent Backward by Hurricane Sandy [Video]

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=214Xk4xB1-0?rel=0]

Curbed spotted this terrifying video of the crane boom being bent backward yesterday afternoon. It almost defies belief, the way the hurricane-force winds, reportedly surpassing 100 miles per hour, just bend the steel frame of the crane—built to carry tons of material—like it is made from strands of spaghetti. This may be even more harrowing to watch than the video of the Con Edison plant exploding on 14th Street.

New Yorkers, cosseted in our urban cocoon, usually have little appreciation of, and even less respect for, nature, but it is scenes like these that remind us that man cannot conquer all.

Fortunately, the crane boom is still hanging on.