New York state is marking the death and destruction caused by Superstorm Sandy by lowering flags and observing a moment of silence in honor of those who perished in the storm.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo says flags will be flown at half-staff on Wednesday, the second anniversary of the storm. The governor says a moment of silence will be held at 9 p.m. Wednesday, which Cuomo says is the time when the storm’s surge was first felt in New York City.

Sandy brought widespread flooding and significant transportation and power outages. Sixty-one New Yorkers were killed and 300,000 residences were damaged or destroyed.

Cuomo says the storm was one of the worst natural disasters in a generation.

(AP)