Nicholas Spencer
The Paw Print
Recorded as the biggest Atlantic hurricane on record spanning 1,100 miles in winds diameter Sandy came with little warning, but enough time to brace for the impact of devastation.
Hurricane Sandy started out in the Western Caribbean Sea on Oct. 22, and quickly elevated to a tropical storm. Striking Kingston, Jamaica first, then: Haiti, Cuba, Bahamas, and Bermuda.
During the beginning of Hurricane Sandy’s path, it jumped back and forth between tropical storm and a category one hurricane. Then the hurricane proceeded north just 200-300 miles off of the U.S. coastline. Numerous states had declared a state of emergency such as: North Carolina, Virginia, D.C., Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersy, New York, and New England. Twenty-four states were said to be affected from the storm from Florida to Maine and as far west as Michigan and Wisconsin.
During four days, Hurricane Sandy cruised the coastline as it grew, then swung north towards New Jersey. Then it swung north again towards Canada.
In the U.S. Hurricane Sandy caused the most damage in New Jersey and New York. In New Jersey, a 50 ft piece of the Atlantic City historic boardwalk was swept away while much of the state was becoming flooded.
Half of Hoboken with a population of 50,000 was said to be under water. In New York City, most of the urban landscape was flooded, such as streets, tunnels, and subways.
The cost of damages is tallied up to $52 billion totaled.
When tallying the cost of damages, inflation is taken into account and is a huge number when thinking this is the second most costly hurricane in U.S. history.
Amazingly, this storm has not reached even half of the cost of Hurricane Katrina from 2006. Hurricane Katrina totaled just over $108 billion. Factors included in the $52 billion are economic losses from property damage, lost business, and extra living expenses. The victim count for Sandy is at 111 deaths. A very unfortunate number although as the second costliest hurricane in U.S. history, it is a far cry from 1,833 confirmed deaths from Hurricane Katrina.
During the storm, Twitter feeds and Facebook statuses were being constantly updated. From describing personal experiences on social networks by the tens of thousands of affected people, there were thousands of personal pictures uploaded for the world to see. From social networking, the world could see the entire east coast had been affected in some manner.
This week the storm has settled and people have begun to rebuild. There are organizations throughout the country accepting donations to help get communities back on there feet.
There was a live telethon on Nov. 2 including musicians raising money.
The program raised $23 million for American Red Cross hurricane relief efforts. Donations are being collected through the following organizations who will get the money to the people and communities that need it.
samaritanspurse.org/
redcross.org/HurricaneSandy
savethechildren.org/U.S.
What’s Been Said…