Hurricane Sandy

Where did Hurricane Sandy start and end?

The Hurricane Sandy began its course as a tropical wave which modified into a tropical depression on Oct 19, 2012, in the Caribbean. By October 24th it attained a speed of 119 kph becoming a proper hurricane and rushed past the Caribbean to drop in Jamaica on October 24th. It left the Caribbean island and then revived as a Category 2 storm which reflected on Cuba on Oct 25 and then again reduced in speed. It had moved over the Bahamas before reducing down into a tropical storm and later gained back it's strength in the Category 1 mode and turned towards the US. By October 29th it changed its course to a tropical cyclone and made the landfall off the coast of South Jersey.

How long did Hurricane Sandy last?

Sandy started as a tropical storm in the Caribbean Sea on October 22, 2012, and ended on November 2nd, 2012 lasting for about 12 days

Where did Hurricane Sandy hit?

Hurricane Sandy initially started out in the Caribbean falling in Jamaica. It revived and hit Cuba, Haiti, and the Bahamas. It then hit the United States, New Jersey reaching its impact to Pennsylvania too.

When did Hurricane Sandy hit?

The Hurricane dissipated in 22nd October 2012 as a Tropical Depression and was upgraded to hurricane status on October 24th, 2012.

What caused Hurricane Sandy?

It was classified under the category of a 'perfect storm' and has been attributed to the coming together of three factors. It started as a storm in the Atlantic Ocean with the temperatures above the normal sea temperature which gained speed with a ridge in the jet stream which moved the wind from East to West and finally the high tides brought up the sea level. The climate experts claim that the unusual temperature of the Atlantic Ocean can be attributed to Global Warming.

What was the wind speed of Hurricane Sandy?

The top speed of Hurricane Sandy was noted to be 185 kph, which is 114 mph.

What were the responses to Hurricane Sandy?

Several organizations came up with support and services to help the affected places face the perils of one of the costliest hurricanes that hit the world.

• The Disney group along with ABC Television raised $17 million by conducting a program by the name of “Day of Giving”. The amount was contributed to the American Red Cross Society.
• NBC conducted a telethon by the name of 'Hurricane Sandy: Coming Together and raked $23 million.
• The New York metropolitan area received $1 million from News Corporation.
• An NGO was formed in the name of Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund for relief work in New Jersey.
• A major concert was conducted on December 12, 2012, by the name of 12-12-12 The Concert for Sandy Relief. The program was organized at Madison Square Garden in New York City, and the visitor count was about 1 billion. The event had some big names in the music industry like Bon Jovi, Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney, and several other popular music brands. It was also streamed across televisions and even Yahoo and AOL.
• Even though the Senate had placed an emergency relief bill request it was postponed by the House till an amount of 50.5 billion dollars was approved only later on January 28, 2013, which was passed as a flood insurance bill.
• Office of Storm Recovery was set up by Governor Andrew Cuomo, which was operational under New York Rising. It had given help of about $280 million to 6388 homes affected by the several recent storms. This was done in 2014.

What category was Hurricane Sandy?

It began as a Category 2  hurricane and made the drop in Cuba before attaining its peak intensity as a Category 3 hurricane.

Why was Hurricane Sandy so devastating?

The wind was initially thought to be a normal one, but later it picked up speed while it moved towards the tropical region taking up huge dimension. The meteorological society had later described the storm to have had unusual characteristics as it hit the New Jersey coast with the sudden shift to the westward direction and finally, the high tide at the Jersey coast increased the fierceness of the storm. It has caused a death toll of 180 people causing several billion worth damages to property.

What were the effects of Hurricane Sandy?

The areas near New Jersey and New York coasts were the most affected ones. Most of the fatalities were reported at the Staten Island. With a loss of over 180 lives and more than a $100 billion as loss of property. The South Ferry subway station which cost about $530 million was destroyed completely. There was immense damage caused to several roadways and subways.

What was the death toll of Hurricane Sandy?

The total deaths were evaluated to be about 285 with 125 deaths in the United States alone.  There were  42 in New York, 12 in New Jersey and others from Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Connecticut, Virginia, North Carolina, Canada, and Haiti. About 37% of the deaths reported have been caused due to drowning, and there were also other indirect reasons like falls, illness, fire, trees falling, Carbon Monoxide and even automobile accidents.

Any other interesting facts found during research?

• The most costly tropical cyclone has been the Hurricane Katrina, and Hurricane Sandy has been evaluated to be next in line.
• It was the sixth costly hurricane of the world when several factors like inflation, population, and economic factors are considered.
• The total losses were estimated later in 2013 by Metropolitan Transportation Authority which placed it to be about $5 billion as monetary loss, $4.75 as loss of buildings and $246 estimated as a loss on revenue and future operating costs.
• About $315 million loss was caused to the Caribbean.
• Reports say that if the Sandy had made the downfall about 6 hours before or after its timing, it would have been low tide, and the same surge of the Sandy would not have caused such intense devastation.