Sandy By The Numbers

Superstorm Sandy combined the punch of a hurricane with the longevity and size of a nor'easter. This "perfect storm" came ashore south of Atlantic City, New Jersey, at 8 p.m. on October 29 packing storm-force winds from North Carolina to Maine. But the bigger punch came from the storm surge that inundated low-lying areas in Long Island, New York City, Staten Island, New Jersey, and Connecticut. The surge lifted entire marinas off their pilings, toppled sailboats off their jackstands, floated powerboats off their trailers, even carried off boats with trailers still strapped to them. BoatUS estimates that some 65,000 boats may have been damaged, and that total boat losses industry-wide may exceed $650 million, making the late-October storm the single-largest industry loss since BoatUS began keeping track in 1966. The following estimates are from BoatUS at press time (December 2012). Sandy delivered claims equal to 6 months of normal volume in a single day.

Overall Storm Power At Landfall

The most powerful storms are not necessarily the windiest. The energy in Sandy was equivalent to the power used by 41,400 U.S. homes in one month.

1. Energy of storm based on extent of tropical storm-force winds
2. One terajoule = 277,777 kWh = energy used by 296 U.S. homes in one month