Hurricane Sandy – The Aftermath

In their last public advisory bulletin concerning "Super Storm" Sandy the Hydrometeorological Prediction Center said yesterday that:

WINDS, ACCUMULATING SNOWS AND RAIN FROM THE REMNANTS OF SANDY CONTINUE TO DIMINISH. MULTIPLE CENTERS OF CIRCULATION IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE REMNANTS OF SANDY CAN BE FOUND ACROSS THE LOWER GREAT LAKES.

GALE WARNINGS REMAIN IN EFFECT FOR PORTIONS OF THE GREAT LAKES. FLOOD WATCHES AND WARNINGS ARE IN EFFECT ACROSS NORTHERN NEW ENGLAND AND FLOOD WARNINGS REMAIN IN EFFECT FOR AREAS OF THE NORTHERN MID-ATLANTIC STATES. LAKESHORE FLOOD WARNINGS HAVE BEEN ISSUED FOR PORTIONS OF THE GREAT LAKES. WINTER STORM WARNINGS AND WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES REMAIN IN EFFECT ALONG THE CENTRAL APPALACHIANS.

Here's video taken from a National Guard helicopter showing how parts of New Jersey looked from the air following Sandy's departure:

According to The Guardian:

The aftermath of Hurricane Sandy has left at least 55 people dead across the US. President Obama has called the storm "heartbreaking for the nation". In New York, the death toll in the city from storm has now reached 22, according to the New York Police Department. A total of 133 people or more have died, from the Caribbean up to the east coast of the United States.

Here's the Guardian's graphic explanation of how those death's divided up amongst the nations affected:

Guardian DataBlog chart of national death rates due to Hurricane Sandy

Meanwhile, according to the UK's Channel 4:

While the world's media focuses on the impact of Hurricane Sandy on the United States, parts of Cuba and much of Haiti have been devastated by the storm. The death toll for the Caribbean as a whole stands at 71, with 54 of the victims from Haiti, where Sandy dumped more than 20 inches of rain in 24 hours.

An estimated 370,000 people are still living in displacement camps in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake destroyed 175,000 homes. Cases of cholera were already on the rise, and homeless Haitians were battered by wind and rain by Tropical Storm Isaac in August this year, before Sandy struck at the end of last week.

The World Food Programme's director in Haiti, Myrta Kaulard, said the storm was the latest blow for farmers in a country already weakened by deforestation and drought.

Here's their video showing how things look in both Haiti and Cuba at the moment, as well as in New Jersey:

According to the BBC:

Haiti was hit when it was already down. At least 20,000 people have been made homeless by the storm.

There is concern that floods and unsanitary conditions could led to an increase in cholera cases. More than 7,500 people have died in the cholera epidemic in Haiti since late 2010. Hundreds of new cases are still being registered every week.

Another big worry is the damage to the agriculture sector. More than 70% of crops – including bananas, plantains and maize – were destroyed in the south of the country, officials said.

The HPC's final bulletin also included some summary information on the wind, snow and rain experienced by the north eastern United States during Sandy's passage. Here are a few selected extracts:

Those HPC figures don't reveal how many people Sandy has made homeless in the United States, but our own researches reveal that over 4 million homes are still suffering from an electric power outage.