Hurricane Sandy

The devastation is like nothing I have ever seen. The entire East Coast has been affected. Millions in New York City, New Jersey and other cities and towns along America's most populous urban stretch coped with major losses and daily inconveniences. Commuters, homeowners and businesses struggled with the loss of power, waterlogged or burned homes and the challenge of navigating a crippled infrastructure of damaged roads, bridges and mass transit systems. New York City had not been hit with the kind of flooding caused by Superstorm Sandy in more than half a century. As of early Wednesday, roughly 6.5 million homes and businesses were still without power, including 4 million in New York and New Jersey. Electricity was out as far west as Wisconsin and as far south as the Carolinas. More than 8.2 million lost electricity at the height of the disaster. Sandy left at least 61 dead.

Hundreds have lost their homes, their possessions and years of memories. For them, it’s more than just not being able to play video games or watch their favorite team play. It’s about rebuilding their lives. The Red Cross is taking donations to help the people in need. You can go to:  www.redcross.org to make donations.

Forecasting firm IHS Global Insight predicted Tuesday the storm will end up causing about $20 billion in damage and $10 billion to $30 billion in lost business. Another firm, AIR Worldwide, estimated losses up to $15 billion — big numbers probably offset by reconstruction and repairs that will contribute to longer-term growth.

From the staff of the Litigtion Support Technology and News Blog: Our prayers go out to everyone who has been impacted by this horrible event.