The death toll from Superstorm Sandy has reached 55, while there are still more than 6.8 million homes and businesses without power—down from a peak of 8.5 million—but many residents up and down the Atlantic seaboard are just returning home to assess the damage to their property.
Sandy may go down as the third-most costly storm in U.S. history, according to a new insurance estimate by disaster-modeling firm AIR, which put the potential number at between $7 billion and $15 billion in insured losses. If the total comes in at the high end, Sandy would be right behind 1992’s Hurricane Andrew, which caused $15.5 billion in insured losses.
Based on a state-by-state rundown of Sandy destruction provided by CBS News, New York City was the hardest hit by the superstorm, followed by the state of New Jersey.
In the city, the power outages still have more than 2 million people in the dark, as subways remain shut down and businesses and schools closed. Utility companies say it could be several more days before power is restored to city residents and to Long Island. In Queens, a fire burned 50 houses in one flooded section. A total of 29 people have died in New York state, including 22 in New York City.
In New Jersey, some residents remain cut off by floodwaters, while the National Guard had to be called in to evacuate residents of Hoboken and distribute supplies. There have been 6 deaths in New Jersey, with 2.1 million people currently without power—down from a peak of 2.7 million.
Other places with significant damage include Pennsylvania, where the death toll is 7, with nearly a million people without power—down from a high of 1.2 million.
In Connecticut, there were 3 deaths and 497,000 without power, down from a peak of more than 620,000.
There were 2 deaths in Maryland, with western Maryland dealing with a mind-boggling 29 inches of snow.
There were also 2 deaths in Virginia, 2 deaths in North Carolina, 2 deaths in Ohio and 1 death in West Virginia.
