Hurricane Sandy's Devastating U.S. Impact

November 3, 2012

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Hurricane Sandy was the deadliest and most destructive, as well as the strongest, hurricane of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season with winds up to 115 mph. While it was a Category 2 hurricane off the coast of the Northeastern United States, Sandy became the largest Atlantic hurricane on record as measured by diameter, with tropical-storm-force winds spanning 1,150 miles.

It came ashore in northern New Jersey on October 29, 2012, and as the powerful storm made its way along the East Coast it inflicted nearly $70 billion in damage. At least 233 people were killed along the path of the storm in eight countries.

Information of Hurricane Sandy's U.S. Northeast Coast approach, destruction, and rescue collage scenes created by USA Patriotism!

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• Satellite image of Hurricane Sandy nearing the Atlantic coast of the U.S. in the early morning hours of October 29, 2012. (NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen and Robert Simmon, using VIIRS Day-Night Band data from the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership.)

• A Coast Guard helicopter crew from Air Station Cape Cod, MA observes property damages along the New Jersey coast and areas of Long Island, NY caused by Hurricane Sandy, during an over-flight performed on October 30, 2012. (U.S. Coast Guard photos by Petty Officer 2nd Class Erik Swanson and Petty Officer 2nd Class Rob Simpson)

• The HMS Bounty, a 180-foot sailboat, is shown submerged in the Atlantic Ocean during Hurricane Sandy approximately 90 miles southeast of Hatteras, NC on October 29, 2012. Of the 16-person crew, the Coast Guard rescued 14 (see woman in helicopter), recovered a woman and is searching for the captain of the vessel. (U.S. Coast Guard photos by Petty Officer 2nd Class Tim Kuklewski and Lt. Zach Huff)

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• New Jersey National Guard soldiers assist displaced family members with small children including an infant from their residences at the flooded town of Hoboken on October 31, 2012. Four trucks and eight soldiers were dispatched to Hoboken at the request of the state Office of Emergency Management to assist in rescue efforts of approximately 2,000 displaced residents. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Joseph Davis)

Note... Hurricane Sandy became the second-costliest hurricane on record in the United States until surpassed by Hurricanes Harvey and Maria in 2017.

U.S. Coast Guard | U.S. Army | NASA