Wind, Rain, and Flooding: Tropical Cyclone Sandy!

Wind, rain, and flooding! Throughout the week, flooding was observed in many places across the globe, including Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, the Caribbean, and North America. In the United States, all eyes were fixed on Tropical Cyclone Sandy, which brought strong winds, heavy rains, and flooding to the region. So far, Major Disaster Declarations have been declared in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, and Emergency Declarations have been issued for New Hampshire, Virginia, West Virginia, Delaware, Road Island, Pennsylvania, District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Maryland, Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York. Additionally, a public health emergency was declared yesterday, October 31, for New York (U.S. HHS).

PDC Global Hazards Atlas displaying PDC Integrated Active Hazards, 3 day precipitation accumulation, and forecast positions and track for Tropical Cyclone Sandy (October 29)

Sandy made landfall in the United States on Monday, October 29, just south-west of Atlantic City, New Jersey. The number of customer power outages grew to over 8.2 million (U.S. DoE) by October 30, and has been reduced by over half (approx. 4,454,650 outages) as of today. Flooding has been reported in many states, including New Jersey, New York, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, District of Columbia, and Ohio (USGS).

Flooding in Seaside, New Jersey (Source: NJ Governor’s Office/Tim Larson)

Looking Back

PDC Global Hazards Atlas displaying PDC Integrated Active Hazards, 3 day precipitation accumulation, and forecast positions and track for Tropical Cyclone Sandy (October 25)

Sandy became a Tropical Storm in the southwestern Caribbean Sea on Monday, October 22, and reached hurricane strength just prior to impacting Jamaica on October 24. Continuing on a northeastern course, the hurricane carved its way through Cuba (October 25) and The Bahamas (October 25-26). According to recent reports, at least 71 people were killed in the Caribbean, as a result of Hurricane Sandy (AP).

Flooding in Port-au-Prince, Haiti resulting from Hurricane Sandy (Source: AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

Looking Ahead

PDC is currently monitoring flooding events in: Argentina, Australia, Bulgaria, Burundi, Canada, England, Indonesia, Kenya, Maldives, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, United States, Uganda, and Vietnam.

Over the next week, PDC will continue to monitor tropical cyclone activity, as well as other areas of high precipitation, and keep a close eye on flooding across the globe. Want to find the most up-to-date information on flooding and other hazards occurring in your neighborhood or around the world? Then be sure to download PDC’s free Disaster Alert mobile app available for your iOS or Android devices today! Also be sure to continue to monitor PDC Twitter, Facebook, and Global Hazards Atlas.