PrintExposure Summary
The maps on the previous page show how the severity of Hurricane Sandy’s impacts on the East Coast of the United States was a product of regional differences in not only the intensity of its wind, surge, rain, and snow but also in the distribution of people and property. One of the main reasons that Hurricane Sandy was so destructive was that it made landfall in a densely populated and developed region, exposing many people and the things they value to damaging wind and water. However, this is only part of the story. As the following sections on sensitivity and adaptive capacity will explain, other characteristics of the people who lived in Sandy’s path – including their demographics and their capacity to plan, prepare, and rebuild – also played an important role in shaping their vulnerability.