U.S. Death Toll From Hurricane Sandy Hits 113

The recovery from Hurricane Sandy continues to proceed, but the costs continue to mount:

The outward signs of recovery were everywhere Monday across the Northeast nearly two weeks after Superstorm Sandy struck: Power restored to tens of thousands, bridges and tunnels reopened, and limited train and ferry service up and running.

But there were signs, too, of struggle.

People in hard-hit areas were still clearing debris from their homes, standing watch among ruins to ward off looters, and putting on layers of clothing to battle the cold.

The death toll from Sandy rose by two Sunday to at least 113 across several states, with 43 of those fatalities in New York City, according to New York’s chief medical examiner.

Authorities discovered the body of a 66-year-old man who appeared to have drowned in his home on hard-hit Staten Island, while a 77-year-old man from the battered beachside community of Far Rockaway, Queens, died of injuries he suffered when he fell down a flight of stairs.

More than 160,000 customers in 10 states and the District of Columbia remained without power Sunday, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. The number of people affected was considerably higher, given that a single power customer could range from an apartment building to a house, the agency said.

Not long after the superstorm, more than 8.6 million people were without power, the Energy Department said.

In other news, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced yesterday that Sandy related damage could total $30 billion for New York alone, where many low-lying areas of New York City were flooded and vast stretches of Long Island were severely impacted by the storm.  No word yet on damages estimates for New Jersey, but we’re getting to the point now where the initial estimate of $50 billion is likely to be surpassed once everything is added up.

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Doug Mataconis
About Doug Mataconis
Doug Mataconis held a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University and J.D. from George Mason University School of Law. He joined the staff of OTB in May 2010 and contributed a staggering 16,483 posts before his retirement in January 2020. He passed far too young in July 2021.

Comments

  1. JKB says:

    Oh look, no one is interested when FEMA is again incompetent and only 7 years after their last major failure propelled them into the limelight. Of course, this time there are Democrats running the agency and in the White House. And FEMA bugs out when there is inclimate weather.

    Of course, the power problems stem from the failure of the local power authorities to do maintenance, i.e,. tree trimming. But they tried, it was the little Liberal who ran down to the courthouse every time they tried to cut an overhanging branch screaming about the natural environment.

    But no fear, just as with Katrina, the churches are coming to the rescue. But with chainsaw-toting Baptists freeing the victims from their homes will the New York Times readers survive the reality?

    Among the more entertaining incidents, a crew of chainsaw-toting Baptists showed up and started cutting people’s trees for free. This was extremely necessary, because all tree service companies are booked up solid on larger jobs. cite

  2. Console says:

    @JKB:

    You do realize that you could take the number of dead from Sandy… multiply it by TEN and it still wouldn’t equal Katrina?

  3. mantis says:

    @JKB:

    Nearly everything you wrote is nonsense, per usual.

  4. JKB says:

    @Console:

    Why, yes I do. I also know for a fact that they had to use bucket trucks to get the bodies out of the trees. That most were killed in the first 2 hours of the water coming ashore and that entire neighborhoods were wiped clean except for the concrete pads.

    What’s your point?

  5. Console says:

    @JKB:

    That Sandy isn’t Katrina and Obama damn sure isn’t Bush.