New York City braces for Hurricane Sandy
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New York officials were on high alert Friday as Hurricane Sandy tracked north and was expected to be within striking distance of the city early this week.
Though it was unclear how close to New York the storm would come, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said at least some impact was expected.
“Whenever or wherever it comes ashore, our city is likely to feel its effects in form of high tides, high winds and heavy rainfall lasting for several days,” Mr. Bloomberg said during a news conference. As a precaution, the city suspended high-rise construction and maintenance work after 5 p.m. Friday.
As of 11 a.m. EDT Friday, the National Hurricane Center predicted Sandy would make landfall in southern New Jersey on Tuesday with sustained winds of 74 mph to 110 mph. Up to four inches of rain was forecast for the greater New York area between Monday and Wednesday.
Sandy last week caused at least three dozen deaths and several hundred million dollars in insured losses in the Caribbean, according to the Boston-based catastrophe modeler AIR Worldwide Inc.
Losses were expected to be greatest in Cuba, where the storm caused up to $2 billion in both insured and uninsured losses.
Insured losses were estimated to be less than $300 million in Jamaica and less than $100 million in the Bahamas, according to AIR Worldwide.
Though Sandy's impact on New York and its surrounding suburbs could be substantial, officials said it was not predicted to be as devastating as Hurricane Irene, which forced evacuation of more than 373,000 residents and a total shutdown of the city's public transportation systems in August 2011.
Irene inflicted an estimated $4.3 billion in insured losses in the United States, including $915 million in New Jersey, according to a November report by Insurance Services Offices Inc.
