Hurricane Sandy

Hurricane Sandy was a hurricane which began on October 22, 2012 in the Caribbean and moved north towards the United States where it made landfall on October 28, 2012 along the coast near Atlantic City, New Jersey before finishing October 29, 2012 (National Weather Service, 2020). 

Hurricane Sandy is said to be one of the most costly and devastating hurricanes in the history of the United States (CNN 2020). Often called “Superstorm Sandy,” it was, at the time, the largest storm ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean (Manuel 2013). Even compared with Hurricane Katrina, they appeared to have similarly strong winds, Sandy affected a much broader area (Voiland 2012). This hurricane caused damages in 24 US States, the Caribbean, and even parts of Canada, causing $74.1 billion of damages (CNN 2020). Sandy was also responsible for over 200 deaths spread these areas previously mentioned (CNN 2020). Most of the destruction in the Eastern United States came from the storm surges with water being reported reaching 12.5 feet at its highest (Manuel 2013). Many individuals were moved into shelters as their homes were destroyed not only by the water and winds but also a fire which broke out due electrical surges (Manuel 2013). Even weeks after the storm, there was still a loss of power. During the storm, electricity was lost in 21 states, affected over 8.5 million people (Manuel 2013). This greatly affected those in hospitals and various medical centers, some of whom went weeks without critical medications that could not be accessed (Manuel 2013). Clearly this was a devastating storm which appears to have taken one of the most destructive paths possible, just gliding along the majority of the East Coast of the United States before finally making landfall. It is hard to say if it would have caused the amount of damage seen if it had made landfall earlier on which would have inevitably weakened the winds without the warm source of water. 

The track of Hurricane Sandy.
Source: National Weather Service, 2020

 

Storm surge levels along part of the East Coast (New Jersey, Connecticut, and others).
Source: National Weather Service, 2020

As stated above, the damage caused by Hurricane Sandy was beyond words and destroyed many homes and lives in many different regions. There are measures which can be taken to try and mitigate some of the effects of events like hurricanes, but there is really nothing that can be done to completely prevent an event like this occurring. Some preventive measures were already in place when Hurricane Sandy occurred, but even these did not work as well as intended. It is perhaps most important that the area in the path of the storm be evacuated, but path taken by Sandy was unprecedented, and the storm surges occurred when the tide was highest on the East Coast of the United States (National Weather Service 2020). It is also important to secure the protection of things like electricity and water treatment as these are often disrupted or damaged during severe storms. Which is exactly what happened here. Backup generators failed and 80 sewage treatment systems in New York state lost power or were damaged, causing an issue with securing clean water (Manuel 2013). In areas which are often hit with hurricanes which can cause additional flooding, it is important to implement certain building codes to assure the least amount of damage possible. Areas which are often affected tend to have houses raised from the ground so the home will not flood. However, the East Coast is not hit as often so precautions like this were not implemented as widely. Many homes were destroyed, leading to further water and air pollution, while others were flooded and subsequently were affected by mold (Manuel 2013). The only other thing to do is try and have aid prepared for after the disaster has happened. This was something that seemed to be carried out decently, with the Red Cross sending out over 1,000 workers to the East Coast to assist and the United States government allotting $60 billion as a relief fund (Bucci et al. 2013). Overall, there were efforts that could have been taken in order to mitigate some of the effects of Hurricane Sandy, but with the unprecedented nature of this storm which was a, for lack of better terms, a perfect storm of events, I don’t know what more could have been done to avoid some of the damages which occurred. 

Flooding and damages at Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey on November 7, 2012, 9 days after the end of the storm.
Source: Manuel, 2013

This video shows some of the destruction during and after Hurricane Sandy from the news and victims of the storm. It shows just how much damage was caused from a variety of sources like flooding and fires. 

Sources:

Bucci, S., D. Inserra, J. Lesser, M. Mayer, J. Spencer, B. Slattery, and K. Tubb. 2013. After Hurricane Sandy: Time to Learn and Implement the Lessons in Preparedness, Response, and Resilience. Homeland Security. https://www.heritage.org/homeland-security/report/after-hurricane-sandy-time-learn-and-implement-the-lessons-preparedness

CNN. 2020. Hurricane Sandy Fast Facts. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2013/07/13/world/americas/hurricane-sandy-fast-facts/index.html.

Manuel, J. 2013. The Long Road to Recovery: Environmental Health Impacts of Hurricane Sandy. Environmental Health Perspectives 121.5

National Weather Service. 2020. Hurricane Sandy. National Weather Service. https://www.weather.gov/okx/HurricaneSandy.

Voiland, A. 2012. Comparing the Winds of Sandy and Katrina. Nasa. https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hurricanes/archives/2012/h2012_Sandy.html