Superstorm Sandy will end up causing about $20 billion in damages and $10 billion to $30 billion more in lost business, according to IHS Global Insight, a forecasting firm.
The storm cut power to about 7 million homes, shut down 70 percent of East Coast oil refineries and inflicted worse-than-expected damage in the New York metro area. That area produces about 10 percent of U.S. economic output.
Sandy will likely be among the 10 costliest hurricanes in U.S. history. It would still be far below the worst Hurricane Katrina, which cost $108 billion and caused 1,200 deaths in 2005.
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