Sandy causes 70 deaths, thousands flight cancellations

Hurricane Sandy has caused more than 70 deaths as its path ripped through the east coast of the United States last night.

Having already killed 60 in the Caribbean, at least 13 are now thought to be dead in the US amongst what has been dubbed a ‘Frankenstorm’ for its mix of cold arctic winds and traditional storm.

Flights and transport networks were shut down yesterday with around 10,000 flights into JFK, Newark, Philadelphia and Washington Dulles cancelled as well as another 10 airports on the east coast. More flights have been cancelled today although some services to Boston are expected to resume.

The effect of the cancelled flights is likely to continue for the rest of the week as passengers are re-booked or finally brought home.

In New York reports have said lower parts of the city are flooded, with fires occasionally breaking out and frequent power cuts. Meanwhile repair work is being carried out in the Caribbean, with Sandals Resorts offering a refund to customers affected by the storm during their stay. Several of its resorts were damaged during the hurricane, delaying the reopening of Beaches Ochos Rios.

“We pride ourselves on the high level of investment we make in our resorts to ensure that they’re the best around. When one experiences a storm like this which causes the kind of damage it has, its limits the guest experience and that is totally unacceptable in our eyes,” said Gordon “Butch” Stewart, chairman of Sandals Resorts International. “Obviously the storm is no one’s fault but this decision, whilst costly, is absolutely the proper thing to do and our guests appreciate it wholeheartedly. There’s no way they should be the ones to lose out and we’re not taking anyone’s money if they’re not getting what they paid for.”

Ontario and Quebec are set to see winds up to 100mph later today and potential snowfall as the storm moves further north.