Resident Evil: The Raccoon City Incident in Chronological Order

The Resident Evil franchise has several titles, some more beloved than others, and among mutant aberrations and evil villains, what most marked the series were undoubtedly the events of the first three games that cover what we call the Raccoon City Incident.

In this article, we’ll cover the events that led to the destruction of this city and everything that happened behind the scenes, from the beginning of the zombie infection to the complete explosion of Raccoon City, linking each of the main titles in the series that connect during the incident.

The Events of Resident Evil 1

In May 1998, a series of incidents at the secret Umbrella Corporation facility located on Arklay Mountain caused contaminated materials to leak into Raccoon City's water treatment system, and several employees working at Umbrella's secret laboratory, conducting experiments with the deadly T-Virus, were exposed and infected.

Due to the infection spreading among scientists and staff, some test subjects escaped containment, and a series of mysterious attacks began in the mountains. Many civilian camps and rural homes were targeted by test subjects later known as MA-39, or Cerberus, dogs zombified by the T-virus.

With reports of strange attacks in the mountains and people disappearing, the Raccoon City Police Department sent the special S.T.A.R.S. team to investigate the mountains, led by Umbrella's undercover agent Albert Wesker. Their goal was to use the S.T.A.R.S. to test Umbrella's biological weapons while preparing their own plans.

Unaware of the plot unfolding behind the scenes, S.T.A.R.S. fell one by one amid the horrors roaming the mountain region. Only Jill Valentine, Chris Redfield, Rebecca Chambers, and Barry Burton survived to tell the tale.

Umbrella's secret laboratory was destroyed in a final battle against the T-002 bioweapon, Wesker was presumed dead, the company dodged all charges related to the Arklay incident, and the virus continued to spread throughout the region.

After the Arklay incident, the surviving S.T.A.R.S. members took steps to unmask Umbrella. Chris, Jill, Barry, and Rebecca filed reports on their experiences, but Umbrella had bought off the local authorities and arranged for the team to be disbanded and placed under surveillance.

Chris left for Europe with Barry to investigate Umbrella headquarters, Jill continued her investigations in Raccoon City, and Rebecca left the city to help combat bioterrorism worldwide.

September 23-27

In mid-September 1998, Umbrella became aware of the plans of Dr. William Birkin, Chief Research Scientist at NEST, an underground facility located on the outskirts of the city. There, Birkin was working on a new variant of the T-Virus, which he had discovered and named the G-Virus, a variant capable of causing even greater mutations to create more advanced biological weapons than those generated by the first one.

Birkin planned to betray Umbrella after the Arklay incident, believing the company was doomed, and intended to sell his creation to the military. The company's board discovered his betrayal and sent a team of private special agents to retrieve the G samples.

During the operation, Birkin was fatally shot, and his work was taken over by the agents. Wounded and desperate, Birkin injected himself with a sample of the G he had hidden, mutating uncontrollably and becoming an unstoppable monster. Although no longer human, part of his consciousness remained, and the creature sought out the special team to retrieve the G samples, murdering the agents and ingesting the remaining virus.

During the attack, virus residue fell to the ground and came into contact with rats and cockroaches living in the sewers. The infected animals spread the contamination to the city's water supply, causing an exponential increase in cases of the so-called Cannibal Disease. The NEST laboratory was completely overrun by the infection, leaving a few unharmed survivors.

The police chief and the mayor of Raccoon City, who were Umbrella’s puppets, learned of Birkin's incident and began preparing for what was to come. The mayor fled the city, leaving his daughter behind, while Chief Irons began preparations to deal with the situation without revealing his involvement.

Within hours, a large portion of the city's population was infected and showing symptoms, overwhelming hospitals and further spreading the virus. As people turned into zombies, chaos spread.

Annette Birkin, William's wife and work partner, ordered their daughter, Sherry Birkin, to be safely brought to the city police station, from where she could access the labs and be reunited with her mother. However, the chaotic situation ultimately prevented this reunion from taking place. Annette, aware of her husband's situation, remained at NEST and continued research on G and the horrific mutations spreading throughout the facility and sewers, perhaps hoping to help her beloved.

The situation in the city continued to escalate, and local media reported on the streets, while authorities tried in vain to maintain some order. The government soon took control of the situation and began its intervention, supported by local authorities, to isolate the area and evacuate civilians.

On September 26th, Umbrella deployed the UBCS unit, composed of mercenaries who were supposed to assist civilians and the police, but whose true mission was to collect data on the mutants at large in the city.

Knowing of the former S.T.A.R.S. members' attempts to expose the situation to the world, Umbrella sent a special weapon to track down the police officers and eliminate them. A new type of Tyrant, Nemesis-T Type, intelligent and deadly, completely obedient to its creators, who began to pursue the remaining members of the city, Jill Valentine and Brad Vickers.

By the end of September 27, the police had completely lost control of the streets, the hospital had been taken over and destroyed, and a war against the undead was raging in the streets, led by Marvin Branagh, the local police commander. The police forces were eventually forced to retreat to the police station, with many injured, including Marvin, and the city was overrun with the dead.

September 28

On September 28th, Jill was attacked by Nemesis in her apartment, where she had been safe until then, and forced to flee as the case raged on the streets. Jill planned to reach the police station, where she believed she would be fine, and along the way, she encountered Brad, who was extremely frightened, claiming he was being chased by something. Brad is killed by Nemesis in front of Jill, who escapes and later joins the remaining UBCS members, Carlos Oliveira, Nicolai Zinoviev, and Mikhail Viktor.

The UBCS agents planned to use the subway to reach the Clock Tower with the few survivors they managed to save, and from there, they’d be rescued by helicopter. Mikhail, despite being the team leader, was unaware of the true nature of the operation and that Nicolai was the man Umbrella had implanted in the UBCS.

Nemesis pursued Jill through the subway and attacked the train wagons, killing all surviving civilians and taking Mikhail with him, who blew himself up in an attempt to destroy the monster. The rest of the group reached the location, but their escape was thwarted again by a Nemesis even more deformed due to mutations after the subway fight. Jill defeats the creature this time, but is injured and infected. Carlos protects her and sets out to find a cure to save his new friend.

September 29

The Pentagon ordered the withdrawal of all military forces from the isolation operation, which had been deemed a failure. Raccoon City was declared doomed, as were any potential survivors. Umbrella, eager to eliminate any remaining witnesses and recover samples of the G-Virus, dispatched more bioweapons to the city—this time, T-003 units, an enhanced Tyrant, not as perfect as Nemesis, but sufficient to handle the mission.

With national media reporting that Raccoon City had been hit by a nuclear accident, the Pentagon prepared to take decisive action. Meanwhile, recruit Leon S. Kennedy arrives in town, a week late for his first day of work, even after receiving warnings to stay away from the city. Claire Redfield arrived at about the same time, seeking news of her older brother, Chris.

After meeting by chance and escaping the zombies, the pair are separated in an accident and promise to meet again at the police station. Claire and Leon arrive at different times and are helped by Commander Branagh, who had been bitten. Claire encounters Sherry, who is fleeing the creatures and her father, transformed by the G-Virus.

Leon finds a journalist, Ben Bertolucci, being held captive at the police station by Chief Irons. Ben claims that Irons and the authorities were bribed by Umbrella to cover up for the corporation, but is killed shortly after revealing his knowledge to Leon. Leon becomes the target of Mr. X, a T-00 assigned to destroy any survivors at the police station.

After escaping, Leon meets Ada Wong, a mysterious woman who wants to help the recruit but is actually a double agent infiltrated within Umbrella seeking samples of the G-Virus. Ada was sent by Albert Wesker to steal the samples for a rival company.

Claire discovers her brother isn’t in the city and plans to escape with Sherry, but is eventually subdued by Irons, who is completely unhinged. He kidnaps Sherry and is later killed by Birkin. Sherry becomes infected by the monster and ends up in the sewers, where Claire finds her. Searching for a cure for the girl, Claire meets Annette Birkin, and the scientist helps Claire find a cure and reveals the entire secret behind the Raccoon City incident.

Leon and Ada also arrive in the sewers, and the spy takes Leon to NEST and reveals her true intentions. Ada is shot by Annette, who wanted to protect her husband's legacy. Leon flees to escape the laboratory, which will soon self-destruct, believing Ada was dead.

Claire, Leon, and Sherry found themselves on a train that would take them to safety, but first they encountered a fully transformed William and had to defeat the monster. On the morning of the 30th, the three escape the city, NEST is destroyed, Claire decides to set out in search of her brother, and Leon takes Sherry to safety to recover from the horrors he experienced.

On October 1, 1998, the U.S. government decided to bomb Raccoon City to end the infection and prevent its spread. Umbrella ended up being blamed for the entire catastrophe.

Jill awakens after receiving a vaccine from Carlos that is effective against the virus and learns of the city's predicament, which will soon be bombed. After a fierce final battle against the still-living Nemesis, Jill and Carlos manage to get a shuttle to escape the city's explosion and leave alive.

Resident Evil also has several spin-offs and sequels that detail and add storylines to the events of the Raccoon City Incident, but I believe the three main games and their remakes are more than enough to tell a coherent story of these moments.

It's interesting to see how events intertwine and even intersect, as in RE2 and 3, where Jill, Claire, and Leon are in the same place at the same time, dealing with the same problem from different perspectives. Now we just have to wait for the next chapter in the franchise and the possible return to the now-destroyed city.

Thank you for reading, and see you next time.