‘Sandy’ threatens $20B in economic damage to US

HURRICANE Sandy’s economic toll is poised to exceed $20 billion after the biggest Atlantic storm slammed into the Eastern US, damaging homes and offices and flooding subways in America’s most populated city. The total would include insured losses of about $7 billion to $8 billion, said Charles Watson, research and development director at Kinetic Analysis Corp., a hazard-research company in Silver Spring, Maryland. Much of the remaining tab will be picked up by cities and states to repair infrastructure, such as New York City’s subways and tunnels, he said.