Resident Evil Raccoon City Outbreak Timeline | Outbreak Out of Control
Friday, September 25, 1998
Chief Irons hampers efforts by the RPD to combat the infected. The Chief has weapons and ammo scattered throughout the RPD as a means to prevent hypothetical terrorists from seizing them. This is made further complicated by the fact that the underground weapon storage is inaccessible due to a missing key card. This leaves the RPD severely undergunned and unable to coordinate an effective counterattack against the undead. (Operations report 1, Resident Evil 2)
Irons also purposefully sows confusion among the RPD. He severs several escape routes and swears that no one will get out alive. (Chief’s Diary, Resident Evil 2)
The RPD is turned into a temporary shelter for survivors. Later that evening, one of the refugees either turns into a zombie or snaps under pressure and attacks four officers. One is killed, and three are injured. (Record of Events, Resident Evil 2 remake)
Saturday, September 26, 1998
By September 26, Raccoon City was in critical condition. Chief Irons orders the RPD Select Police Force, the replacement for the STARS team, to defend barricades near the bank and Central Tram Station. Both units were wiped out by infected. (Opening Scene, Resident Evil 3: Nemesis)
A company-sized element of the UBCS is deployed in Raccoon City around the same time as the RPD’s last stand. Zombies almost entirely destroy the UBCS. (Opening Scene, Resident Evil 3: Nemesis)
Shortly after the UBCS is wiped out, Umbrella Europe deploys Hunter Betas and Gammas for testing and drops the Nemesis-T Type via helicopter. (Interview with Yasuhisa Kawamura)
On September 26, a battle broke out at Raccoon General Hospital between the staff and zombified patients. Most of the staff were killed, and the hospital is no longer able to function. (Director’s Diary, Resident Evil 3: Nemesis)
Umbrella learns that doctors at the Raccoon General Hospital were able to synthesize a vaccine to the t-Virus. UBCS monitors are ordered to obtain data on the vaccine and destroy the hospital. (Written Order to the Supervisors, Resident Evil 3: Nemesis)
Several researchers attempt to escape from the NEST lab complex under Raccoon City. They lower the temperatures in parts of the lab, freezing the Hunter Rs that had been stalking them. Most of them die in the escape attempt, but Dr. Frederic Downing makes it out of the city with t-Virus and G-Virus samples. (Resident Evil Degeneration)
Another wave of zombies attacks the RPD. Many are injured and killed. During the battle, the RPDs communications equipment is destroyed, cutting the station off from the outside world. The remaining officers redouble their efforts to secure the arms and ammo that Chief Irons ordered scattered throughout the RPD. (Operation report 1, Resident Evil 2)
Sunday, September 27, 1998
Note: It’s at this point that the Resident Evil timeline gets a bit shaky. There’s a ton of stuff happening between September 27-29, and I’ve done my best to piece together the events in an order that makes sense. From here on out, to distinguish in-game events from those you read in files or see via cutscenes, I’ll be adding an (RE2) or (RE3) to the beginning of the paragraph. I’ve tried to approximate the time of some in-game events as well, but because of spotty information, there’s a chance I’m off by a few hours.
1:00 pm CDT: The remaining RPD officers fend off an attack by zombies on the west side of the RPD. Twelve officers are killed, leaving only a handful of survivors. (Record of Events, Resident Evil 2 remake)
Shortly after the battle at the RPD, three others are killed by Lickers during their first appearance. (Operation report 1, Resident Evil 2)
The remaining members of UBCS Echo Team reach St. Michael’s Clock Tower, their pre-assigned evacuation point. In dire straits, the UBCS soldiers resort to scavaging weapons and ammo from their wounded and using the civilians they were ordered to evacuate as shields. (Merc’s Pocketbook, Resident Evil 3: Nemesis)
(RE3) At 10:07 pm CDT, Jill Valentine is forced to flee from her apartment. She is pursued by zombies, but is able to enter a warehouse and barricaded herself in with fellow survivor Dario Rosso. She’ll spend a day here waiting for a rescue party. (Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, Resident Evil 3 remake trailer)
