Damage from the deadly mega-storm that blasted the US East Coast could hit $50 billion, disaster estimator Eqecat announced.
The company put total economic damage from Hurricane Sandy in the range of $30-50 billion, and insured damages at $10-20 billion, double its earlier estimate.
Eqecat said it had revised its estimates for the storm, which plowed into the US Atlantic coastline at heavily populated New Jersey on Monday, because of the extensive losses from power and other utilities, which it said were much greater than those for most category one hurricanes.
It also cited the extended shutdowns of subways and road tunnels in the New York-New Jersey area due to flooding, and expectations that there are many more losses yet unknown.
The storm devastated the New Jersey coastline and shut down New York City on Monday and Tuesday, leaving some 70 dead in the US; along the entire storm path from the Caribbean to Canada, at least 144 people were killed.
Washington, Nov 1, 2012 (AFP)
