Infrastructure
In teRMs of damage caused , Hurricane or ‘ Superstorm ’ Sandy was the second-costliest in US history ( after Katrina ), slamming into the northeastern seaboard in October 2012 and costing the economy in excess of $ 70 billion on its path of destruction .
Twenty-four US states were affected , but no location was hit harder than New York City and its surroundings , which accounted for some $ 18bn of that total . Fiftythree people were killed alongside the destruction of thousands of homes and an estimated 250,000 vehicles as the city flooded and infrastructure cracked under the barrage of wind , rain and waves .
In the aftermath , city Mayor Michael Bloomberg ruled out construction of a flood barrier to protect against future storms , remaining unconvinced that flood prevention efforts would represent value for money .
At the time , he said : “ We live on an island ; we are very concentrated ; there are economics involved . There are risks when you have those factors […] I don ’ t know if there are any practical ways to build barriers in oceans when you have an enormous harbour like we do , as well as Long Island Sound .” But the status quo cannot be maintained . It will , after all , be
White House teleconference for
Hurricane Sandy
10 September 2014