JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – One year ago, forecasters saw the first signs of Superstorm Sandy forming, first on the European model, with other forecast models quickly following suit. Sandy was the 18th tropical depression that year, and initialized about 400 miles South of Jamaica. The forecast models quickly pointed to potential impact in the Northeast, which gave forecasters plenty of time to warn residents and for cities to issue life-saving evacuation orders.
Roughly a week later, Superstorm Sandy slammed into the New Jersey shoreline- killing dozens, destroying thousands of homes, and racking up billions in damages. A year after the storm, damages are still evident in parts of New York City's subway system, and work is being done to protect and prevent future damages from similar systems.
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The Small Business Administration was approved $2.4 Billion dollars to lend out to small businesses and homeowners in need of financial help to rebuild and to date 24% of those funds have been distributed.
Deputy Mayor Cas Holloway has said that even now, hundreds of New York families are unable to live in their homes due to damage from Superstorm Sandy, but applauded the cities efforts after the storm which left over 2 million in New York City without power and killed 44 people. He said that the city was better prepared now to deal with the fallout and prepare for a storm system like Sandy.
Late season strong storms such as Sandy are certainly not the norm, but are not unheard of either. Since 1851, 53 hurricanes have struck the US in the month of October. 16 of those 53 have been a category 3 or higher, which classifies them as a major hurricane. Hazel, Wilma, Kate, & Mitch were all late season major hurricanes of note. Hurricane Wilma was the strongest hurricane on record when considering pressure.