National Hurricane Center: Hurricane Sandy Damages Could Exceed $20 Billion
Following National Hurricane Center reports about Hurricane Sandy and its impending affect on the U.S. East Coast mainland, expert and forecast reports suggest that damages from the hurricane could range from $2 billion to $100 billion for more than 60 million Americans, according to Yahoo.
In 2011, Hurricane Irene cost an estimated $15 billion to $20 billion in damages, the report added. The extreme mix of rain, wind and even snow could result in mage mainland cleanup after Sandy leaves.
Sustained tropical-storm-force winds are already occurring along the coasts of southern New Jersey, Delaware and eastern Virginia, according to The National Hurricane Center. Water in the New York Harbor can potentially rise 6 to 11 feet above ground if the surge occurs at the time of high tide, and the elevated water levels can result in coastal and inland flooding.
Rainfall amounts of 4 to 8 inches are also expected along the mid-Atlantic states. Also anticipated is extreme wind damage and power outages. Park of New York have already experienced the later as of Monday.
The economic impact of Sandy could take its own toll on the U.S. already over thousands of flights have been canceled by carriers flighting in to and out of the East Coast region. Among them, American Airlines canceled all northeast flights starting from 9 p.m. on Sunday night, involving pre-cancellation of 1,431 flights from Monday to Wednesday.
United Airlines grounded flights between Sunday and Wednesday, including all those departing to Philadelphia, Boston, Toronto and Charlotte. See photo.
New Jersey's Gov. Chris Christie ordered a mandatory evacuation on Saturday of barrier islands south of Point Pleasant, Long Beach Island, and coastal towns from Atlantic City, including Wildwood, to Cape May. He also added that New Jersey's 14 casinos would be closed as of 4 p.m. on Sunday under the hype of the storm has died down. No traffic will be coming in to casinos for at least another day and most restaurants, shopping malls, offices and broadway theatres are closed for the duration of the storm.
Hurricane Sandy killed at least 41 people in the Caribbean, according to Reuters. Some weather watchers even said Sandy was shaping up to be a hurricane of "historic" proportions.
