Superstorm Sandy’s Record Damages Reach Bond Market: Muni Credit
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Local-debt investors absorbing the steepest annual issuance jump in almost a decade are bracing for added sales to pay for damage that Hurricane Sandy caused to the New York metropolitan region.
From New Jersey coastal towns where the storm hit Oct. 29 to the area’s transit network, investors are tallying the costs. The New York vicinity’s public-transportation infrastructure, including the city’s 108-year-old subway system, may suffer $10 billion in physical losses from a storm such as Sandy, and the transit tab may reach eight times that amount when including the economic impact, according to a 2011 state study. That compares with a $100 billion loss for Hurricane Katrina in 2005.