Hurricane Sandy cost US as much as $50 billion: report

GlobalPost

The economic damage wrought by Hurricane Sandy could cost the US as much as $50 billion, according to new estimates released by the storm-tracking Eqecat firm, reported The New York Times

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That would make it the costliest storm in US history after Hurricane Katrina, said the Associated Press.

Eqecat's new figures, released Thursday, were more than double those of its earlier estimates, according to AP, with the firm now warning of damages between $30 and $50 billion. 

Insurance companies are expected to have sustained losses of somewhere between $10 and $20 billion, said AP

“The geographic scope of the storm was unprecedented, and the impacts on individuals and on commerce are far larger,” Eqecat’s senior vice president Tom Larsen told NYT.

BBC News said at least 90 people were killed as the super-storm hit the United States' eastern seaboard earlier this week. 

The firm said New York is projected to take 34 percent of the losses, New Jersey 30 percent, Pennsylvania 20 percent and the rest 16 percent, according to NYT.

Another firm, RMS, is also evaluating the expected economic losses due to the storm and results are expected soon, according to AP

Hurricane Katrina, which struck in 2005, cost the US $108 billion, or about $128 billion today, said AP

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