The $100 Billion Storm: 17 Things You Should Know About Hurricane Sandy

Monday, October 29, 2012









The $100 Billion Storm: 17 Things You Should Know About Hurricane Sandy







Michael Snyder, Contibutor
Activist Post

Meteorologists are warning that Hurricane Sandy could potentially be
the worst storm to hit the east coast of the United States in 100
years. Do you remember "the perfect storm" back in 1991? That storm
was so bad that a book was written and Hollywood made a blockbuster
movie about it starring George Clooney. Well, this storm is going to
be much worse. When I first heard about Hurricane Sandy, I didn't make
that much of it. I figured that the east coast would get some wind
and some rain and that they would whine about it a bit but that
everything would be just fine.

But then I started looking into this storm a bit more. It turns out
that this storm is even larger than Hurricane Katrina was. The National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has categorized the destructive
potential of this storm to be 5.8
on a scale that goes from 0 to 6. So don't be fooled when you hear
that this is only a "category 1 storm" or that the maximum winds will
only be around 80 MPH. It is the unprecedented size of this storm and
the mind boggling storm surges that it is producing that truly make it
dangerous. It is being reported that Hurricane Sandy is more than 1,000 miles across from one end to the other.

Meteorologists have never seen anything quite like this before, and we
are most definitely in unprecedented territory. One meteorologist is
already projecting that this megastorm could cause 100 billion dollars
in damage, but the true amount of devastation will likely not be fully
known for weeks. If you live in the northeast part of the United
States, you definitely want to buckle up because you are about to get
absolutely hammered.

The following are 17 things that you should know about Hurricane Sandy...





#1 Hurricane Sandy has been dubbed "the Frankenstorm" and many
believe that this could be the worst storm to hit the east coast in 100
years.

#2 This is an absolutely massive megastorm. It is being reported that tropical storm-force winds can be felt 520 miles away from the center of the storm.

#3 It is being reported that the sheer size of this storm is absolutely unprecedented...

Since records of storm size began in 1988, no tropical storm or
hurricane has been larger, reports meteorologist Jeff Masters of the
Weather Underground.

#4 Hurricane Sandy has already forced the cancellation of over 5,000 flights.

#5 Mayor Bloomberg has announced a mandatory evacuation for all New York City residents that are living in "Zone A".

#6 It is being projected that the storm surge from Hurricane Sandy could be up to 15 feet above sea level in some areas of New York City.

#7 New York City could potentially experience wind speeds of 80 MPH or higher.

#8 Subway service in New York City is being shut down at 7 PM
on Sunday evening. There is a very real possibility that the New York
City subway system could be severely flooded by this storm. That
could be quite crippling, because about 4.3 million people ride the
subway in New York every single day.

#9 It has been announced that all public schools in New York City will be closed on Monday.

#10 Schools in Boston will be shut down on Monday as well.

#11 The trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange will be closed on Monday.

#12 50,000 people living along the coast in Delaware have been ordered to evacuate.

#13 Some parts of Kentucky, West Virginia and North Carolina could get up to 2 feet of snow.

#14 It is being estimated that 10 million people living along the east coast could lose power thanks to Hurricane Sandy.

#15 A state of emergency has already been declared in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia.

#16 Approximately 50 million people live in the areas that will be directly affected by this storm.

#17
Meteorologist Mike Smith of AccuWeather Enterprise Solutions is
projecting that Hurricane Sandy could potentially cause a total of 100 billion dollars in damage to the U.S. economy. That would make it a far more costly disaster than Hurricane Katrina.

Many meteorologists are calling this storm a "worst case scenario". If
you live along the east coast, please take the warnings that you are
getting from public officials very seriously. According to NPR,
conditions are absolutely perfect for this slow moving giant storm,
and it is going to take quite a few days for it to exit the region...

In this case, seas will be amped up by giant waves and
full-moon-powered high tides. That will combine with drenching rains,
triggering inland flooding as the hurricane merges with a winter storm
system that will worsen it and hold it in place for days.

Louis Uccellini, environmental prediction chief for the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told The Associated Press that
given Sandy's due east-to-west track into New Jersey, that puts the
worst of the storm surge just north in New York City, Long Island and
northern New Jersey. "Yes, this is the worst case scenario," he said.

Please do not underestimate this storm. This is unlike anything that any of us have ever seen before.

If you live in a part of the country that is being affected by this
storm, please feel free to leave a comment and let us know what you are
seeing in your area. It is going to be a crazy couple of days.

This article first appeared here at the Economic Collapse. Michael Snyder is a writer, speaker and activist who writes and edits his own blogs The American Dream and Economic Collapse Blog. Follow him on Twitter here.

Thanks to: http://www.activistpost.com

This is a crazy hectic storm. I hope everyone is ok and takes extra special care. Are any of our OOMers affected by this storm?