I know what I am going to say isn't going to be very popular given the timing. I know many people have lost their homes, businesses, or possibly their lives. However, Sandy was a large storm but was not a strong storm. The storm surge was significant due to the full moon and high tide when she came ashore. However, she was downgraded as a Tropical Depression when she made land fall. Wind gusts above 100MPH were only observed only in a few places, usually on sky scrapers in NYC.

No doubt there is a lot of damage with Sandy, especially considering her size and the amount of population she affected. But unless you live near the coastline or a river connecting to the ocean, Sandy is a nuisance for most people. Even in hard hit towns like Seaside Heights, NJ., houses located on the beach are still standing -- although they are pretty much totaled. In CAT3 or higher hurricanes, buildings on the coast in the area where the eye makes landfall do not remain standing, only their foundations remain. Hurricanes like Andrew were so strong, all wind measuring equipment were destroyed by the high winds so nobody knows exactly how strong the winds really were. They also cause extensive catastrophic damage for miles inland, far away from the coastline. They also cause tornadoes and flooding far away from the coastline. Other CAT3 and higher hurricanes had much higher storm surges which pushed miles up upon miles inland. Hurricane Ivan and Katrina knocked out major roadway bridges -- I don't know of one that has fallen down in the NJ or NY area which is a godsend considering how bad the commuting situation is there with the subways and rail being shut down.

Sandy was bad, but it was a well forecasted slow moving train wreck. Those who stayed behind, or didn't protect property, are the only ones at fault.