Superstorm Sandy

Two nurses examined an earthquake victim writhing in pain inside a yellow triage tent recently on the lawn of Redlands Community Hospital. They suspected the woman had head trauma, a broken leg and internal bleeding as part of a disaster drill that morning for a magnitude 7.9 earthquake. The 229-bed facility was running on two generators after losing power, and the nurses needed to get her inside the hospital and into intensive care. Trouble was the hospital gurneys were too heavy for the damp grass and they couldn't roll them to the triage tent.

The world's airline industry lost an estimated $500 million in revenue because of the closure of several East Coast airports during the onslaught of Superstorm Sandy, according to an airline trade group. The analysis of the storm's effect on the industry came from reports issued Wednesday and Thursday by the International Air Transport Assn., a trade group for the world's largest airlines. The trade group estimated that the industry suffered most of its revenue losses from Oct. 28 to Nov. 3. At the peak of the storm Oct. 29, about 9% of global airline capacity was grounded, the trade group said.

Superstorm Sandy pummeled retail sales in November despite a robust Black Friday weekend, raising worries about whether merchants can make up enough ground during the remaining holiday season. Major chains posted a 1.6% increase in retail sales in November compared with the same month a year earlier, according to Thomson Reuters' tally of 16 retailers. That's below analyst expectations of a 3.3% rise. Sandy closed many stores in the Northeast region for days. Retailers also were hurt by the cleanup and repairs required once the weather cleared up. Even record-breaking sales over the Thanksgiving weekend did not make up for the damage that the storm wrought.

WASHINGTON -- Initial claims for unemployment benefits dropped again last week, to 393,000, as the jobs market continued to recover from Superstorm Sandy. The new data came as a top Federal Reserve official estimated the devastating storm had a significant effect on the nation's economy. New jobless claims were down 23,000 for the week that ended Saturday compared to the previous week, the Labor Department said Thursday. It was the first time the figure had fallen below 400,000 since Sandy caused it to shoot up to 451,000 for the week ending Nov. 10, the highest level in more than a year and a half.

NEW YORK -- Superstorm Sandy appears to have damaged the New York area's economy more than initially believed, New York Federal Reserve president William Dudley said. Although the monster storm's impact has yet to be fully measured, Sandy's toll on labor markets, manufacturing and the area's infrastructure appears to be "more extensive and longer-lasting than first anticipated," Dudley said in a speech prepared for delivery at Pace University. Every firm that responded to the New York Fed's manufacturing survey reported an impact from Sandy, with 40% indicating that the storm shut down or severely crippled their operations for at least five days.

The U.S. economy expanded at a "measured pace" in recent weeks as gains in consumer demand and housing were tempered by a slowdown in manufacturing and the impact of Superstorm Sandy, the Federal Reserve said in its "beige book" survey. "Consumer spending grew at a moderate pace in most districts, while manufacturing weakened," the central bank said in the survey that comes out eight times a year and is based on reports from the Fed's 12 district banks. "Contacts in a number of districts expressed concern and uncertainty about the federal budget, especially the fiscal cliff.

More than 17,000 people have converged on the Qatari capital for the latest U.N. climate talks, but the most influential presence may be Sandy. The superstorm that ravaged the U.S. Northeast a month ago seared into the American consciousness an apocalyptic vision of what climate change could look like. On the heels of devastating wildfires, droughts and floods this year, Sandy's destructive power snapped Americans to the reality that rising temperatures are a risk to their own well-being, not just a concern for distant lowlands.

Superstorm Sandy's tab swelled Wednesday as New York and New Jersey estimated they would need $79 billion in federal aid to cover damages, recovery and mitigation measures to cope with a future storm. In a joint statement released Wednesday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie pledged to coordinate their recovery efforts and called on the Obama administration to support them. “Our economies and infrastructures are inextricably linked and, in many ways, dependent on one another, which is why we share common goals in the rebuilding effort,” the governors said in a news release.

Governors Andrew Cuomo of New York and Chris Christie of New Jersey don't need to wait on gridlocked Washington to confront future risks from climate-change intensified storms. They can instead look at how California is already moving forward on common-sense adaptations, and do it themselves. With 3.5 million Californians living within three feet of sea level, and the best available science projecting a 3- to 5-foot rise in sea level for the state by 2100, doing nothing would be irresponsible.