Tag Archives: power plants

Tropical Storm Sandy: Death tolls begin to rise

As Sandy makes her way across the north east there have already been at least 13 deaths caused by the super-storm.  This is expected to rise.

Sandy made landfall near Atlantic City, New Jersey. The storm surge in Manhattan caused by the storm has left lower Manhattan under water. Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the surge was higher than even the highest predictions. Much of Manhattan is now without power, subways are flooded and water pours into Battery Tunnel – linking Lower Manhattan to Long Island. There are reports of an explosion in the Con Edison power station on the east side of Manhattan.

In New Jersey, the Oyster Creek nuclear plant has been placed on alert due to the rising water.

Expects warn the super-storm could remain over the country for the next 24-36 hours. Although the super-storm was downgraded from hurricane status after landfall, Meteorologists warn not to downplay the seriousness of the storm, which is still giving hurricane strength winds: this could be the worst storm in US history.

Disaster estimating firm Eqecat has forecast that Sandy could cost the economy between $10bn- $20bn. The New York Stock Exchange will remain closed again today.