Hurricane Sandy

  Hurricane Sandy took place on October 29, 2012. Sandy formed in the Caribbean on October 22nd and made its way to Jamaica, Eastern Cuba, and the Bahamas. On the 28th, the hurricane made its way to the Atlantic coast on the 28th and Sandy later transitioned into a post-tropical cyclone before hitting Atlantic City, New Jersey. The hurricane was a category 1 hurricane when it hit Jamaica, a category 3 when it hit Cuba, and the hurricane went back to a category 1 when it hit Jamaica. The hurricane weakened once it hit near Brigantine, New Jersey (Blake et al, 2012). The storm hit areas of New Jersey and New York coastlines. When Sandy made landfall, it had 80 mph winds and a record breaking storm surge (Department of Environmental Protection). It resulted in flooded streets, toppled power lines, and houses that swept off their foundations. Hurricane Sandy was a late in the season hurricane that varied in intensity as it traveled over different parts of the World. Hurricane Sandy was an extremely large hurricane, and it grew in size significantly from the time it reached the Bahamas to its landfall along the mid-Atlantic coast. The change in environment as it moved from the Bahamas to the mid-Atlantic coast resulted in the hurricane becoming a tropical storm that weakened in intensity over time.          

There were around 147 deaths from the Hurricane, and 72 fatalities. This is the most fatalities directly related to a tropical cyclone, not including the southern states, since 1972 (National Hurricane Center, 2013). The aftershocks that came from the hurricane along with the hurricane itself were hard to recover from. Hurricane Sandy came at a bad time because the hurricane hit New Jersey during high tide, which led to higher water levels, eroded dunes, and water rushing through streets (Bowman, 2012). This destruction led to extreme damages to houses built close to the beach. Many infrastructures right on the beach were severely damaged or destroyed. An amusement park in Seaside Heights, New Jersey got completely destroyed when a whole roller coaster ended up in the Ocean. Flooding was so extreme in Lower Manhattan that cars piled on top of each other and got completely submerged in water in the streets when extreme flooding took place. In addition to this, the waves were so strong from the hurricane that boats washed ashore in Monmouth Beach, New Jersey. Fires also took place as a result of Hurricane Sandy. A fire in Brooklyn, New York destroyed 110 homes (Jeffery, 2017).  Sand even had to be removed from people’s homes in Mantoloking, New Jersey after the hurricane. Many people were extremely affected by this hurricane and had a hard time recovering. In efforts to try and protect communities in the future from Hurricanes and natural disasters, the Department of Environmental Protection is trying to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to help mitigate the threats from sea-level rise. 

(CNBC) 

Collapsed Amusement Park in Seaside Heights, New Jersey. The waves were very intense from this hurricane and led to massive destruction.  

(National Weather Service) 

This graph is a hydrograph from Hurricane Sandy. Information on hurricane winds, rainfall, and the movement of the storm is important to track. The hydrograph shows the height of the tide in New York Harbor at the Battery. 

(CNBC)

This picture shows the destruction caused by Hurricane Sandy. It lifted many homes from their foundation and left streets extremely flooded leaving extreme damage.

(New York Times) 

Birds eye view of Atlantic City from Hurricane Sandy. Houses near the beach were heavily affected by the hurricane and high tides made flooding worse. 

     

Hurricane Sandy Creeps into Queens | The New York Times

This video shows residents' experience from Hurricane Sandy in Queens, New York. It shows storm footage to help show the severity of the hurricane. Many people chose not to evacuate and residents explained how high the waves got during the hurricane.   

References 

Aftermath of Superstorm Sandy. Department of Environmental Protection. (n.d.). https://dep.nj.gov/sandy-10/

Blake et al. (2013, February 12). Tropical cyclone report : Hurricane Sandy - NHC. National Hurricane Center . https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL182012_Sandy.pdf

Bowman et al. (n.d.). Superstorm Sandy – how did it happen and are we prepared for the future?https://seagrant.sunysb.edu/media/sandy12/UUPInsight-Sandy020113.pdf

Jeffery, A. (2017, October 30). Five Years on: A look back at the destruction caused by Superstorm Sandy. CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/30/five-years-on-a-look-back-at-the-destruction-caused-by-superstorm-sandy.html

US Department of Commerce, N. (2024, May 30). Hurricane Sandy. National Weather Service. https://www.weather.gov/okx/hurricanesandy5year