Let’s take a look at Hurricane Sandy, also known as “Superstorm Sandy.”
According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Hurricane Sandy affected 24 states and the entire East Coast. The damage was estimated at $88.5 billion, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, making it the fifth costliest storm in the United States, behind Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Hurricane Ian in 2022, and Hurricanes Harvey and Maria in 2017.
October 22-29, 2012 – As a hurricane and post-tropical cyclone, Hurricane Sandy was directly responsible for at least 147 deaths in the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean, according to the National Hurricane Center. The direct U.S. death toll from Sandy includes 48 in New York, 12 in New Jersey, five in Connecticut, two in Pennsylvania, and five in other states. In the Caribbean, Haiti (54 deaths) and Cuba (11 deaths) were the worst-hit countries, while Canada had one death.
October 29, 2012 – Hurricane Hunter aircraft measure Sandy’s central pressure at 940 millibars (27.76 inches). This is the lowest pressure ever recorded for an Atlantic storm that made landfall north of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. The previous record holder was Hurricane Long Island Express in 1938, whose descent speed reached 946 millibars.
October 29, 2012 – The height of New York’s Battery Park reached 13.88 feet at 9:24 p.m., surpassing the old record of 10.02 feet set by Hurricane Donna in 1960.
October 29, 2012 – Waves in New York Harbor reach record levels with buoys measuring 32.5-foot waves. The waves are more than 7 feet taller than the 25-foot waves created by Hurricane Irene in 2011.
October 22, 2012 – Sandy develops into a tropical storm in the Caribbean Sea.
October 24, 2012 – Sandy strengthens into a Category 1 hurricane.
October 24, 2012 – Hurricane Sandy makes landfall near Kingston, Jamaica with winds of 80 mph.
October 25, 2012 – Hurricane Sandy makes landfall in southeastern Cuba as a Category 2 hurricane with winds of 165 mph.
October 25, 2012 – Hurricane Sandy makes landfall in Haiti and the Bahamas.
October 26, 2012
– Category 1 with winds of 80 mph.
– New York, Maryland, Washington, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina declare states of emergency.
– Maine Governor Paul R. LePage signed a limited state of emergency declaration allowing power staff from other states and Canada to assist in Maine’s Sandy preparedness.
October 27, 2012
– The National Weather Service downgraded Sandy to a tropical storm.
– Sandy strengthens into a Category 1 hurricane with sustained winds of 110 mph.
– New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts declare states of emergency.
– New Jersey Governor Chris Christie ordered residents living on barrier islands south of Sandy Hook to Cape May to evacuate. He ordered casinos to evacuate by 4 p.m. Sunday.
– Amtrak is canceling some service to and from stations on the East Coast.
October 28, 2012
– The New York Metropolitan Transit Authority will suspend subway and commuter rail service at 7 p.m., and bus service will cease at 9 p.m.
– Governor Andrew Cuomo orders the Army and Air National Guard to mobilize.
– New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg orders evacuations of low-lying areas and the closure of public schools.
– Rhode Island declares a state of emergency.
– President Barack Obama declares a state of emergency in Connecticut, Washington, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, and Rhode Island.
– The Broadway League cancels all Broadway performances on Sunday and Monday nights.
– The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is suspending all late-night rail service until further notice.
– The airline cancels the flight.
– Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority suspends all services.
October 29, 2012 – Approaches land as a Category 2 storm.
– The New York Stock Exchange suspends all trading operations.
– Hurricane-force winds extend up to 275 miles from Sandy’s eye, much larger than most storms of this type.
– U.S. federal offices in the Washington area near the people.
– United Nations headquarters in Manhattan closed.
– Washington’s subway system suspends transit service.
– Nearly 11 million commuters are without service.
– West Virginia Governor Earl Ray Tomblin declares a state of emergency due to the snow and rain caused by Hurricane Sandy.
– 6,700 National Guard troops are active or active to assist governors in states affected by Hurricane Sandy.
– Hurricane Sandy weakened into a post-tropical storm by evening and then made landfall along the coast of southern New Jersey.
– At least 110 homes burned to the ground in the Breezy Point neighborhood of Queens, New York. The cause of the fire was not immediately determined.
– Three nuclear reactors experienced trips, or shutdowns, during the storm, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said in a statement.
October 30, 2012
– The New York Stock Exchange was closed for the second day in a row, the first time this has happened since 1888 due to weather.
– Kennedy Airport will resume landing for select airline flights starting at 10 p.m.
– New York’s LaGuardia Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport remain closed due to storm damage.
– 7.9 million businesses and households are without power in 15 states and the District of Columbia.
– 9,000 people in 13 states spend the night in 171 Red Cross-run shelters
– The Red Cross reported that 300 blood drives were canceled due to the storm.
– The majority of the 1,400 Massachusetts Guard members deployed in response to Hurricane Sandy have begun the process of returning home.
– A helicopter rescues five adults and one child trapped in a house due to rising waters on Staten Island from a rooftop.
– National Guard arrives in Hoboken, New Jersey.
October 31, 2012
– The New York Stock Exchange reopens after a two-day closure. Bloomberg rings the opening bell.
– John F. Kennedy International Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport will reopen at 7 a.m. with limited service.
– Hoboken Hudson River ferry service will resume from New Jersey to the World Financial Center at 7 a.m.
– Federal agencies in Washington reopen.
– Storm-related power outages decreased to just over 6.3 million.
– Obama and Christie tour storm-damaged areas near Atlantic City.
– New York’s Bellevue Hospital, one of the largest hospitals in the United States, began evacuating more than 725 patients after an investigation revealed widespread damage.
November 1, 2012
– 4.8 million customers remain without power in 15 states and the District of Columbia.
– LaGuardia Airport will reopen with limited service.
– Manhattan public schools remain closed.
– Broadway theaters reopen.
November 2, 2012
– Sandy-hit areas are still experiencing gas shortages as gas stations are without power.
– Companies have donated more than $33 million, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Center for Business and Civil Leadership.
– The New York City Marathon scheduled for November 4th has been cancelled.
– 3.3 million customers remain without power.
– Con Edison has restored power to approximately 460,000 of the 910,000 affected customers.
– The U.S. Energy Information Administration reports that approximately 67% of gas stations in the New York metropolitan area do not have gasoline for sale.
November 3, 2012
– Gasoline rationing begins in 12 New Jersey counties.
– Con Edison announced it has restored power to more than 645,000 customers, about 70% of all customers who lost power.
Mr. Cuomo announced that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority has restored 80% of the New York subway system, including subway service between Brooklyn and Manhattan.
– The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates that 38% of stations in the New York metropolitan area do not sell gasoline.
November 4, 2012
– New York City Public Schools announced through its official feed that schools will reopen on November 5th. More than 80 schools in the district have sustained severe damage and will not be able to open that day.
– 2.206 million customers are without power in 15 states and the District of Columbia.
– Con Edison announced power has been restored to more than 750,000 customers, with 198,000 customers still without power.
– Bloomberg says 30,000 to 40,000 people could need housing in New York.
– The U.S. Energy Information Administration reports that approximately 27% of stations in the New York metropolitan area do not have gas available for purchase.
The White House has already approved more than $137 million in direct aid to people in need, but said about 164,000 residents of Connecticut, New York and New Jersey have applied for federal aid from FEMA.
– The New York City Board of Elections announces the decision to temporarily relocate or consolidate some polling places in five boroughs due to damage from Superstorm Sandy.
November 6, 2012
– In some affected areas, residents are allowed to vote in presidential elections by email or fax, and some states allow voters to cast their votes at any polling place.
November 7, 2012
– More than 600,000 people remain without power.
– Cuomo fired his emergency management director after his staff allegedly used government workers to remove a tree from a driveway on Long Island during a hurricane.
– The Red Cross announced it had raised nearly $103 million in donations for Sandy victims.
– More than 352,000 people have registered for assistance and more than $403 million in FEMA assistance has been approved.
– More than 71,000 applicants qualify for more than $385 million in housing assistance.
– A nor’easter, a strong low-pressure system with strong northeasterly winds blowing from the ocean ahead of the storm, will hit areas already affected by Sandy.
November 9, 2012
– Gasoline rationing begins in New York City and Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island.
November 28, 2012
– Christie estimates damage from Sandy-related storms at approximately $36.8 billion.
$29.4 billion for repairs and restoration
$7.4 billion in additional mitigation protection and prevention coverage
– Christie appoints former Assistant Attorney General Mark Frenz to manage Sandy storm recovery within the governor’s office.
– Bloomberg estimates total public and private losses to New York City at $19 billion.
Approximately $15 billion in losses not covered by private insurance
$3.8 billion covered by personal loss insurance
– Cuomo said Sandy cost New York state $41.9 billion.
Repair and restoration costs amounted to $32.8 billion.
Mitigation and prevention costs are $9.1 billion
– At one point, nearly 3 million people in New Jersey were without power.
January 11, 2013 – The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) estimates that Sandy caused $5 billion in losses. Of that amount, $4.75 billion resulted in infrastructure damage and an additional $246 million in lost revenue and increased operating costs.
February 12, 2013 – Sandy is expected to rank as the second-costliest tropical cyclone on record, behind Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and probably the sixth-costliest cyclone when adjusting for normalizing factors of inflation, population, and wealth, according to a report released by the National Hurricane Center.
-The report notes that Sandy was responsible for “the largest number of direct U.S. deaths related to a tropical cyclone outside of the Southern states since Hurricane Agnes in 1972.”
– Cuomo announced that his administration has sent letters to various banks and mortgage servicers asking them to “use their utmost discretion and efforts to expedite the release of funds.” Cuomo said banks have more than $200 million in insurance money for Sandy victims.
May 18, 2021 – The journal Nature Communications reports that climate change has increased the cost of Hurricane Sandy by $8.1 billion.
