Today In History: Twelve Years Since Hurricane Sandy Hit NYC

By Idy Perl

Today marks 12 years since Hurricane Sandy touched down in New York and caused devastating damage to local communities and infrastructure. 

New Yorkers remember Sandy well, as the catastrophic aftermath was felt in many communities for months after. Forty-four lives were tragically lost in New York City alone, and countless others were injured. Many residents faced the harrowing experience of being displaced from their homes, as entire neighborhoods were submerged under water. The hurricane destroyed thousands of homes, with areas like Seagate, Staten Island, and the Rockaways among the hardest hit. In total, the storm inflicted approximately $19 billion in damages, marking it as one of the costliest natural disasters in U.S. history.

Earlier today NYC Water and the Department of Design and Construction posted on X, formerly Twitter, that they are continuously taking steps to fortify structures along the coast in order to protect NYC from rising sea levels and to prevent such devastation from happening again (see photos below).