The sun is rising on a serious mess across the east coast of the United States, after Superstorm Sandy ripped through the region Monday. There are millions of individual stories to tell and plenty of challenges to face. But we’ve winnowed down the devastation to a few numbers to keep in your head.
50 million — Number of people in the region affected by the storm.
13,500 — Number of flights around the US and the world that were cancelled for Monday and Tuesday.
25 — The percentage of US flights that travel to or from New York airports each day. Airports in the New York metro area were open Tuesday, but carriers are not operating and officials are telling would-be travelers not to attempt to go to the airport.
13 — The size of the surge of seawater into New York City, in feet. (Nearly four meters.) That topped the previous record, flooding subways and tunnels.
6.2 million — Estimated number of households without power across the east coast.
670,000 — Number without power in and around New York City.
16 — The number of US deaths blamed on the storm early Tuesday.
69 — Number of Sandy-related deaths in the Caribbean.
74 — Number of flights of stairs inspectors need to climb to check out the crane dangling from a luxury residential construction project in midtown Manhattan.
2 — The number of days in a row the New York Stock Exchange has been closed for weather, the most since the blizzard of 1888.