In late October 2012, Super Storm Sandy made landfall along the East Coast. Second only to Katrina in its time as the costliest disaster on record in the United States, Super Storm Sandy brought historic damage to one of the largest cities in the world and its surrounding area. 

Eight years later, as New York City continues to recover from the tragic losses of the COVID-19 pandemic, resilience – in the face of all kinds of emergencies – is top of mind. One homeowner from the Rockaways shares her experience that shows what Super Storm Sandy response and recovery looked like on the ground, and how the East Coast is rebuilding its communities stronger for future floods.

The Flood Damage: When a Super Storm Batters America’s Largest Metro Area

Nicknamed “Super Storm Sandy,” Hurricane Sandy was a Category 2 storm that became the largest Atlantic hurricane on record. 

After making its way up the Eastern Seaboard, Sandy tore through New York City and its suburbs, Long Island, and New Jersey over the course of several days, leaving behind a path of destruction rarely seen from a single weather event in the region. 

Here’s an overview of Sandy’s damage, in numbers:

• More than 117 Americans died.
• 200,000 homes were damaged.
• More than 8 million people across the U.S. had power outages following the storm.
• The total Super Storm Sandy recovery costs were estimated at $65 billion, with roughly half of that going to New York State.

A preview of the worst days of the pandemic, the hustle and bustle of New York City came to an almost complete halt during the 2012 storm: the subway system, the stock exchange, and several large hospitals closed, while much of the city was left without power and wading through feet of floodwater.

Many communities across New York, New Jersey, and New England were faced with damages they had never needed to brace for before.

The Flood Risk: A Storm Surge that Inundated “Non-Flood Zones”

In addition to powerful winds and torrential rains, Sandy caused a storm surge, a tsunami-like phenomenon following a tropical storm that pushes a wave of seawater ashore. It was this storm surge that devastated low-lying coastal communities across the East Coast, like Rochelle Grubb’s home in The Rockaways, Queens.

See articles of Flood Restoration

The 2019 Midwestern Floods:
The Insidious Damage of Inland Flooding