Her name was Sandy, and after a brief visit, the lights were out, thousands homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed and emergency planning programs were put to the test.
Hurricane Sandy caused widespread damage and serious economic disruption in 24 states from Florida to Maine and as far inland as Wisconsin, with the worst damage in New Jersey and New York. Also known as “Superstorm Sandy” and “Frankenstorm” because it later merged with other storm systems, Sandy formed on October 22, peaked as a Category 2 storm, spanned 1,100 miles in diameter and caused billions of dollars worth of damage – some estimates say that insured loss payouts will likely reach $10-20 billion and that the total cost of the storm will likely be between $30-50 billion.