By: Pamela Andrade
Hurricane Sandy has passed, but new information about the storm is still rolling in. Here are some of the most shocking numbers you should know.
The New York City Marathon was projected to generate $340 million before Mayor Michael R Bloomberg canceled the historic event on Friday. The race has taken place every year since 1970, and was even held in 2001 after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
$30 million in federal funds have been allocated for storm cleanup alone, with an additional $29 million going towards highway reconstruction. Lawmakers estimate that a full recovery from the storm will be a multibillion-dollar effort.
According to Twitter, people sent over 20 million tweets about the storm during the past week. Tweets mentioning the Red Cross increased by 30%.
As many as 20,000 flights were canceled due to the storm, leaving many tourists stranded at airports. Airlines have lost an estimated $200 million.
Eatons Neck, N.Y. reported wind gusts of 96 mph during the peak of the storm. Other areas in Long Island also experienced gusts over 90 mph.
The death toll in New York City reached 41 on Friday. The United States and Canada combined have seen almost 100 lives taken by the storm.
Richwood, W.V. experienced 36 inches of snow. At least three individuals died in weather-related accidents or during cleanup after the storm passed.
Staff members from NYU Langone Medical Center carried 20 babies down nine flights of stairs during an evacuation after the power went out. Nurses manually squeezed bags full of air into the mouths of four newborns who had been on respirators.
Storm surges reached as high as 14.38 feet at Kings Point, N.Y. Heights of 13.88 feet were reported from The Battery, Lower Manhattan.
At one point, 10 pictures per second with the hashtag #sandy were being uploaded to Instagram.