These pictures are from the United States of America.

[Spider-Dan]

Hard to believe.














American Red Cross - Hurricane Sandy Disaster Relief

[Cathal]

Wow. It's pretty ridiculous the amount of death and destruction this hurricane caused. I haven't followed it since it wasn't going to get me a day off of work, thinking it's just a baby storm around South Florida. So what the hell happened that made it such a strong force? What category strength did it get up to?

[Phishfan]

What category strength did it get up to?

It really did not get big in terms of the hurricane scale & wind speed. In fact, I think it had lost hurricane status by the time it made landfall. It brought with it a huge storm surge & rain though and that is where the problems occurred.

[Brian Fein]

This is mostly due to water in low-lying areas from storm surge and flooding.  The cars mostly weren't blown around, but rather floated around and were pushed by rushing water currents.

Just tough to imagine that these homes and places aren't equipped to handle that kind of environment.

[Landshark]

Just tough to imagine that these homes and places aren't equipped to handle that kind of environment.

Tough to imagine but it's true.  The northeast doesn't really get all that much in the way of hurricanes, so the buildings are ill equipped for one, even a category one storm. 

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

Just tough to imagine that these homes and places aren't equipped to handle that kind of environment.

Northeast doesn't get that many huricanes.  How many houses in your neighborhood could survive 2 feet of snow being dumped on the roof.  Building codes reflect the normal conditions.  Florida - huricanes, CA - Earthquakes, Midwest tornados, Northeast - snow. 

[Landshark]

Northeast doesn't get that many huricanes.  How many houses in your neighborhood could survive 2 feet of snow being dumped on the roof.  Building codes reflect the normal conditions.  Florida - huricanes, CA - Earthquakes, Midwest tornados, Northeast - snow. 

You're right about the snow.  The cold also tends to linger in the house longer because Florida houses aren't insulated like houses up north.

[Brian Fein]

I would bet that Florida houses could handle 2 feet of snow on the roof.  They are rated to 350 lbs per square foot, usually.

[SCFinfan]

Charleston, SC - circa 1989...

https://www.google.com/#hl=en&safe=off&sclient=psy-ab&q=hurricane+hugo+aftermath+pictures&oq=hurricane+hugo+after&gs_l=hp.3.0.0l2j0i30j0i8i30.896.7106.0.7972.40.27.10.1.1.2.349.3047.15j10j1j1.27.0.les%3B..0.0...1c.1.WuwUf16GOA8&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.r_qf.&fp=8c0bb27d33614e56&bpcl=37189454&biw=1280&bih=675

This kinda destruction is terrible. But it's every hurricane.

[MaineDolFan]

No, it's not.  Not to this extent.  Not even close.

Everyone seems locked in on the catagory, which is important, but a key factor with every storm is the hurricane barometric pressure when it makes land fall as well.

I had no clue about any of this until our local guy was talking about it the other night.  Along with the wind field (which was one of the largest storms in the history of storms), the hurricane's barometric pressure when it hit land fall was the lowest / worst since a 1933 hurricane (I forget the name).  Factor in the full moon and this helps explain the depths of the flooding and waves which were experienced. 

Check out the stats:

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=the-stats-are-in-superstorm-sandy

[TonyB0D]

This is mostly due to water in low-lying areas from storm surge and flooding.  The cars mostly weren't blown around, but rather floated around and were pushed by rushing water currents.

Just tough to imagine that these homes and places aren't equipped to handle that kind of environment.

handle what, water flooding lower manhattan?  what are we supposed to do, build our houses on stilts?  we also have basements up here unlike in florida.

[bsmooth]

Maine is right. Not only was the storm extremely wide, but it hit at high tide on a full moon.  The amount of water that flooded NYC is mind-boggling.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

I would bet that Florida houses could handle 2 feet of snow on the roof.  They are rated to 350 lbs per square foot, usually.

Was that the standard in the 1840's as well? 

That is when my grandmothers apartment in NYC was built.   

[CF DolFan]

The buildings handled the storm. It was the flooding that caused most of the problems. Not a whole lot you can do as a coastal town and having to deal with that surge.