Abstract
Abstract. At the end of October 2012, Hurricane Sandy moved from the Caribbean Sea into the Atlantic Ocean and entered the United States not far from New York. Along its track, Sandy caused more than 200 fatalities and severe losses in Jamaica, The Bahamas, Haiti, Cuba, and the US. This paper demonstrates the capability and potential for near-real-time analysis of catastrophes. It is shown that the impact of Sandy was driven by the superposition of different extremes (high wind speeds, storm surge, heavy precipitation) and by cascading effects. In particular the interaction between Sandy and an extra-tropical weather system created a huge storm that affected large areas in the US. It is examined how Sandy compares to historic hurricane events, both from a hydro-meteorological and impact perspective. The distribution of losses to different sectors of the economy is calculated with simple input-output models as well as government estimates. Direct economic losses are estimated about USD 4.2 billion in the Caribbean and between USD 78 and 97 billion in the US. Indirect economic losses from power outages is estimated in the order of USD 16.3 billion. Modelling sector-specific dependencies quantifies total business interruption losses between USD 10.8 and 15.5 billion. Thus, seven years after the record impact of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Hurricane Sandy is the second costliest hurricane in the history of the United States.
Highlights
Hurricane Sandy was the last tropical cyclone (TC) of the 2012 Northern Atlantic Hurricane season
From a hydro-meteorological perspective, the most unusual aspect was the very large spatial extent of up to 1700 km, primarily a result of the interaction of the TC with an upper-tropospheric trough. This interaction led to a rapid extra-tropical transition (e.g., Jones et al, 2003)
We presented a multidisciplinary analysis of the causes, hazardous effects, and consequences associated with Hurricane Sandy
Summary
Hurricane Sandy was the last tropical cyclone (TC) of the 2012 Northern Atlantic Hurricane season. From 24 to 30 October, Sandy moved on an unusual track from the Caribbean to the East Coast of the United States, where it made landfall in New Jersey in the early hours of 30 October. The main research strategy is to consider the natural hazard components, and the related complex interactions and cascading effects in and between the natural, social, economic and infrastructure system This is implemented in an interdisciplinary way by collecting and compiling scattered and distributed information from available databases and sources via the Internet, by application of our own methodologies and models for near-real-time analyses developed in recent years, and by expert knowledge. The paper describes the multihazard situation that led to the extraordinary event, highlights the interaction of the TC with other hydrometeorological events, and examines impacts such as social and economic losses including cascading effects, for example, due to power outages.
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