Raccoon City

Raccoon City was a small, industrialized city located in Arklay County, an isolated mountain county in the Midwestern United States. It was destroyed during the t-Virus outbreak in 1998. At present, the area is cordoned off to the rest of the world by a U.S. government facility.

History
In the 1950s, what would become Raccoon City was a small rural town at the edge of Raccoon Forest. Modernization began in the late 1960s immediately following the opening of Umbrella Pharmaceuticals, which had a lab based in the nearby mountains. The streets were electrified for a tram system, designed by engineer Michael Warren, who later became the town's mayor. In 1969, the Kite brothers opened up a short subway system. Umbrella influenced the city economy with the construction of its own chemical plant in the northern outskirts, and its funding of the subway allowed it to expand sevenfold in the 1980s. Also in 1969, the Raccoon City Police Department (RPD) was formed, when Raccoon City officials realized that the city's rapid expansion would be considered out of reach in regards to response time and jurisdiction for the Arklay County Sheriff's Department (ACSD). The newly-organized RPD purchased a former art museum the same year and converted it into the Raccoon City Police Station, which was located on Ennerdale Street in Downtown Raccoon City.

The city suffered from the 1990-1991 recession, which was reversed by Mayor Warren's Bright Raccoon 21 Plan, a city revival project which was funded heavily by Umbrella. The Raccoon General Hospital was constructed in 1992 as part of this project, though another hospital in the mountains was closed the next year due to a scandal linked to the company. Like the New York City Police Department (NYPD)'s Emergency Service Unit (ESU), the RPD established the Special Tactics and Rescue Service (S.T.A.R.S.) in 1996 to counter the increasing crime and threats of terrorism that its traditional police force was unable to handle; this organization was also funded heavily by Umbrella.

Mansion incident
1998 saw a series of events which would later destroy Raccoon City itself. A sentient B.O.W. known as "Queen Leech" began an attack on Umbrella facilities in the Arklay Mountains as revenge for the death of its creator, Dr. James Marcus, ten years prior. In attacking the Arklay Laboratory and infecting its personnel, they were unable to manage the facility, leading to the escape of a pack of Cerberuses. The dogs began attacking hikers while escaped Zombies attacked and killed families living in the suburbs. By mid-July, 20 people were known to have died, consisting of thirteen Raccoon City locals attacked in their homes, and a further seven out-of-state hikers killed in five separate attacks. Attempts were made to prevent further deaths by stopping tourists from exploring the forest while a police investigation was underway. The RPD explored the theory that the attackers were a cult based in a hideout in the mountains who ritualistically murdered and ate their victims after consuming narcotics, but they hit a dead end when neither Raccoon General Hospital or local pharmacies reported unusual customers. Finally, the RPD handed the case over to the Special Tactics and Rescue Service, who sent out Bravo Team to the mountains to investigate.

Ahead of the Bravo Team mission, the helicopter was sabotaged by Umbrella agent Dr. Albert Wesker, who they had placed in command of S.T.A.R.S. It was Umbrella's intention to destroy the Arklay Laboratory using S.T.A.R.S., who would then be killed by their B.O.W.s to prove their viability against a militarily-trained unit. With Bravo Team out of contact, Wesker had reason to send Alpha Team out on an emergency mission. Over the course of the two-day investigation, Kevin Dooley; Edward Dewey; Forest Speyer; Joseph Frost; Kenneth J. Sullivan and Richard Aiken were killed by B.O.W.s and irregular mutants. Captain Enrico Marini was shot by Wesker himself when it became clear he had discovered Umbrella's intention. Wesker infected himself with an experimental t-Virus strain moments before being impaled by the T-002 Tyrant; this allowed him to keep the data for himself and convince Umbrella he had perished. However, the actions of Chris Redfield; Jill Valentine; Barry Burton and Rebecca Chambers as well as Umbrella executive Colonel Sergei Vladimir prevented this being achieved, and he was forced to abandon the facility with nothing while T-002 was destroyed.

Viral outbreak
The return of the four S.T.A.R.S. veterans and their pilot Brad Vickers caused a serious problem to the company's control of Raccoon City. They were able to slow down any official police investigation due to their control over the Mayor and Chief of Police, but made plans to assassinate the S.T.A.R.S. officers if it was found they were conducting an unofficial investigation. S.T.A.R.S. itself was shut down and replaced with Raccoon S.W.A.T. Redfield; Rebecca and Burton left the city for their own reasons, while Valentine continued her investigation within the city.

Over the course of September, the t-Virus made its way into Raccoon City, largely due to Dr. William Birkin allowing nearby Umbrella facilities to be contaminated to prevent them stopping him handing over the experimental Golgotha Virus to the US military. By 16 September, the Raccoon General Hospital had wards locked down to slow the spread of the t-Virus, which was understood by its local name as the "Cannibal Disease.

On the night of Tuesday, 22 September, Dr. Birkin was attacked by an Umbrella Security Service team sent to retrieve the sample. This led to a series of events that culminated in the t-Virus contaminating into Victory Lake via infected rats, and entering the water supply. The city was put under martial law on 24 September as thousands mutated into zombies. Despite the efforts of the Raccoon Police Department and Raccoon S.W.A.T., the US Army and Army National Guard, and the Umbrella Biohazard Countermeasure Service, the infection continued and efforts to stop it failed brutally. By the night of Tuesday 29 September, the Raccoon Police Station was itself abandoned.

Following an emergency meeting in Congress over what to do to control the outbreak, the President made the highly controversial decision to fire an experimental thermobaric missile at the city. The operation began after daybreak on Friday 1 October, destroying the entire city. The official death toll was over 100,000. The President resigned after this event, faced with public outrage at his decision to destroy the city.

What was left of Raccoon City and the surrounding area was searched and categorized thoroughly for any possible survivors and biohazard threats by the U.S. government in early October 1998. There were small traces of active "t" organisms found. No known survivors were found within the city limits or the surrounding areas. The ruins of Raccoon City were declared a possible biohazard threat and became a highly classified, restricted area that only the U.S. government could enter.

The area that used to be Raccoon City is gated off from the rest of the world, and the government built a classified research and testing facility. All that is known about this facility is that it was used for experiments and testing and it keeps a close watch for any trespassers or biohazard threats.

Legacy
Raccoon City's destruction served as a warning to the world of the dangers of viral experimentation, and as a result new guidelines and safety precautions were put into place to prevent another such disaster from occurring. Global distrust in pharmaceutical companies grew due to the Umbrella Corporations illicit practices becoming public knowledge. Companies such as WilPharma Corporation and TRICELL came under intense scrutiny and were picketed by human rights organizations, whilst the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance (BSAA) was formed by former members of Raccoon's S.T.A.R.S unit to combat the rise in bio-terrorism that followed Umbrella's downfall. Despite the measures, the city of Harvardville nearly became a third Raccoon City (the second Raccoon City was Sheena Island) following a t-Virus outbreak at the city's airport and at a WilPharma facility built within the city limits. However, the crisis was averted and the outbreak was quickly contained.

Ex-Umbrella employees, the President in office at that time, the military and Raccoon survivors are said to be the only people who know that the t-Virus ultimately caused Raccoon's destruction. In Resident Evil Outbreak, after Raccoon City is quarantined, a news report states that the city is suffering from a radioactive waste leak, a cover-up story. After the President allowed the city to be nuked, many accused Umbrella of starting the incident. When most of the world blamed Umbrella, the company fell. It was clearly confirmed that the radioactive waste story wasn't true and that somehow Umbrella was responsible, which led survivors and family members of dead citizens to start demanding the government release the truth for Raccoon's sterilization. Curtis Miller, whose wife and daughter died in Raccoon City, threatened WilPharma to release the truth so corporations like itself would fall before similar destruction occurred again. He injected the G-Virus into himself and became a monster, exposing the truth of the reasons Umbrella destroyed Raccoon. Only his sister, Angela Miller, discovered the truth. TRICELL took over WilPharma and conducted the same research and no one would ultimately know what really happened to Raccoon City.

In 2013, Adam Benford, President of the United States, decided to publicly reveal the truth behind Raccoon City's destruction in the hopes of curbing the recent global bioterrorist attacks, but was himself infected and turned into a zombie before he could.

Economy
Due to its associations with Umbrella and its proximity to the Arklay Mountains, Raccoon City's economy was a mix of industry and tourism. In terms of industry, Umbrella operated a chemical plant east of the Circular River which provided jobs for hundreds. With its subsidiaries taken into account, Umbrella directly or indirectly employed up to 40% of Raccoon City's workforce. Umbrella held a high reputation in the county, and they provided heavy investment in infrastructure, such as constructing Raccoon General Hospital as part of the "Bright Raccoon 21" initiative. Likely outside of Umbrella's control was Raccoon Dam, based at Victory Lake. This dam may have provided electricity for the city, with Victory Lake itself being used as a reservoir for the city's drinking water. Boats also used the rivers for transport, and Umbrella operated a dock from which the transportation of B.O.W.s occurred.

In terms of tourism, St. Michael's Clock Tower was located in the centre of Raccoon City and was a local treasure, featured in postcards. Located somewhere in the city was Warren Stadium, home to the American Football team the "Raccoon Sharks". Raccoon Zoo was opened in the 1970s and remained a popular tourist attraction into the 1990s, and acquired funding for new building projects such as a biodome, though this became the subject of controversy when the chairman was accused of engaging in the illegal buying and selling of orchids for the zoo. Outside of Raccoon City itself, Raccoon Forest and the Arklay Mountains within it were popular among hikers. Income for the local community was also likely generated through the opening of Raccoon University to the east of the Circular River.

Tying the industry and tourism together was Raccoon City's transportation routes. A tramway was constructed in the 1960s, which facilitated transport across Raccoon City and out into the mountain community of Stone-Ville. The underground Kite Bros. Railway was opened in 1969, and provided additional transport. By the 1990s it was regularly transporting tens of thousands of commuters between eight stations. However, it suffered from the early 1990s recession, and by 1998 was virtually abandoned outside of commuting hours. Funding appears to have been bad enough they could not support structural repairs, as the tunnels during the 1998 Raccoon City Destruction Incident were found to be derelict.

Geography
Raccoon City was located eight miles southeast of the Arklay Mountains and its northern extremities were bordered by rivers and the Raccoon Forest. At least three rivers are known by name: Marble; Circular and Aimes. The Marble flowed into Cedar, a nearby suburban community. The Circular flowed through Raccoon City itself, creating an east-west division.

The western bank was separated into Uptown Raccoon City, covering the south, and Downtown Raccoon City covering the north, with Ennerdale Street and the Raccoon Police Station forming the border. Not much is known of Raccoon City east of the river, other than it being the site of Raccoon University and, to the north, the industrial zone home to Umbrella's chemical plant and facilities relating to its illegal bio-weapons research.

Further notes

 * At the beginning of Resident Evil 2, the player comes across a store named Arukas. Spelled backwards, it reads Sakura, a reference to the Capcom series Street Fighter.
 * In the English manual for the GameCube version of Resident Evil 2, Raccoon City was stated to originally be a small hamlet before Umbrella got involved. However, the manual was not written by the series writers.
 * In Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, Jill comes across Eagle's Pet Shop. Eagle is a reference to the Street Fighter character. There are also many signs above doors with a royal symbol surrounding the name, CAPCOM.
 * In Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles, during the "Death's Door" scenario, a road sign can be seen as Ada exits the back of the Apple Inn that reads, "Mexico, Guatemala, Cuba" with arrows pointing in respective directions. As Raccoon City is located in the Midwest, it's unknown why the sign exists. It is also to be noted that Cuba is an island, meaning it cannot be accessed via road.
 * In Resident Evil 3: Nemesis one can see a sign reading: "Biohazard 4", on the street outside the restaurant.
 * In the American TV show "Robot Chicken", it showed Raccoon City in a skit whereas Mario Kart characters have to take detours to undesirable cities, and Yoshi ended up going to Raccoon City, where he was devoured by zombies.
 * In the comic book "I feel Sick", created by Jhonen Vasquez, the main character is on a date with a young man who mentions that he was in Raccoon City. The young man then turns out to be a zombie, and begins eating the waiter.
 * In the arcade mode of Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, the ending for Marvel Comics character Rocket Raccoon shows the character paying a visit to Raccoon City after hearing about it through Chris Redfield. Unaware of the truth, he is shown to be fighting his way through hordes of zombies.
 * In the deleted scenes from Resident Evil: Apocalypse, former news anchor Terri Morales has been demoted to weather. On the weather map it shows Raccoon City approximately where Allentown, PA is located. Other cities on the map include Trenton, NJ, Selinsgrove, PA, and Hazleton, PA. But, as Pennsylvania is technically a Mid-Atlantic Seaboard state, the generic identification of it as a Midwestern city (combined with its very name) would seem to imply that Raccoon City is a thinly-disguised analog of Chicago, Illinois. The latter supposedly deriving its name from a Native American term meaning "the skunk place!"
 * A magazine article about Raccoon City in the Annabelle ship is found in the table in floor 2F, stating, "16 years after the nightmare of Raccoon City and the survivors are still suffering."