Hurricane Sandy

geog blog #3

Hurricane Sandy is being described as the worst storm to hit the USA in recorded history. The hurricane brewed in the Atlantic Ocean to the East of the USA on the 22nd October 2012 It affected 24 states particularly New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and New York as well as Vermont and areas of Canada.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-20137363

In New York City (the largest city to be affected) all subways were been closed for 3 days and all public transport suspended. President Obama urged the individuals who were affected to 'take it seriously' already 400 000 New York citizens were evacuated in anticipation of the events that were to follow.  

The storm's effects include the cancellation of the New York Marathon which was set to take place this weekend. It was decided that it would be ridiculous to be handing out free bottled water to the runners when there are individuals living in New Your who have no access to clean water and in some areas no power. Early calculations suggest that Sandy caused the following damages:  

Country	Fatalities	Missing	Damage (in USD)	Sources
United States	110	1	$50 billion (estimated)	[152][153][154]
Haiti	54	21	Unknown	[155][156]
Cuba	11	0	$80 million	[152][157]
Bahamas	2	0	$300 million (estimated)	[152][158]
Canada	2	0	Unknown	[159][160]
Dominican Republic	2	0	Unknown	[152]
Jamaica	1	0	$55.23 million (estimated)	[152][161]
Bermuda	0	0	Unknown	[152]
Total	182	22	>$50 billion (estimated)

Where this information and the events that occurred are potentially interesting is looking at whether the storm would have had the affects that it did and would have been the magnitude that it was if it wasn't partly sue to global warming and the rapid development of global populations. The individuals who were affected could be classed as a vulnerable population, many areas such as Manhattan are low lying and therefore very susceptible to flooding and storm surges. As well as this the fact that the land is so built up and industrial does not aid the natural removal of water. Water is not able to sink into the ground and flow as groundwater flow but rather it contributes to surface run off and the flooding.

Then global warning, are the frequency and magnitude of hurricanes increasing over time? Hurricane Sandy was the tenth largest Atlantic hurricane on record. Hurricanes form when the warm water is sucked up into a channel which has rotational force due to the Coriolis effect. If water is warmer then more will evaporate and be picked up into the hurricane causing the size to grow. Whilst the link between global warming and hurricanes may be tenuous it cannot be ignored.

Hurricane Sandy came and went over an October half term but for some people it will never be forgotten. 

TR

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