In October 2012, Hurricane Sandy ravaged the Atlantic Coast with record flooding and winds. Dun & Bradstreet, the world's leader in business information and commercial insight, has prepared a preliminary analysis of the potential business impact of the storm in the tri-state region.

1. Hurricane Sandy Disaster Impact Report
November 2012
Areas hit hardest by Hurricane Sandy in the 19 counties
Preliminary Business Impact Analysis for are home to a high concentration of small businesses,
New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut defined as those with less than 10 employees. Roughly
73 percent – or 1.1 million companies – are classified as
In October 2012, Hurricane Sandy ravaged the small businesses. In New York, 72 percent of businesses
Atlantic coast with record flooding and winds. qualify as small businesses, while 73 percent in New
The storm’s devastation left 8 million people without Jersey and Connecticut are considered small.
power, thousands of flights cancelled, businesses shut
down for days, and billions of dollars in damage.1 Potential Impact on Jobs
Among the 12 states affected, 19 counties in New York, Of the 9.3 million employees working in the 19-county
New Jersey, and Connecticut were particularly hard hit. impact zone, 5.7 million are located in New York,
Dun & Bradstreet, the world’s leader in business constituting 61 percent of all employees in Sandy’s
information and commercial insight, has prepared a tri-state impact zone. New Jersey is home to 2.2
preliminary analysis of the potential business impact million employees, while 1.4 Connecticut employees
of the storm in the tri-state region. are potentially affected.
Analysis Methodology
D&B reviewed its database of more than 200 million
businesses to conduct this preliminary analysis. Key
highlights include the storm’s impact on the number
of businesses and employees.
Business Impact
Hurricane Sandy potentially affected some 1.5 million
businesses located across 19 counties in the tri-state
region. These businesses employ 9.3 million individuals,
all of whom were vulnerable to the effects of the storm.
All told, these businesses represent nearly 1,000 different
industries. Sixty-two percent of the region’s businesses
are located in New York, 22 percent in New Jersey, and
16 percent in Connecticut.
1. Federal Emergency Management Agency (http://www.fema.gov/blog/2012-11-05/hurricane-sandy-recovery-efforts), Nov. 5, 2012.

2. Potential Impact on Industries Likelihood of Businesses to Have Severe
Retail, Finance, Transportation, Manufacturing, and Financial Difficulties
Other Services constitute the top five industries across Among the businesses potentially impacted by the
the 19 counties impacted in the tri-state region, based storm, some 812,000 businesses in New York, New Jersey,
on number of employees. These five industries employ and Connecticut were struggling financially before
over 7.6 million people who are potentially impacted Hurricane Sandy made landfall, indicating that post-
by Hurricane Sandy. In addition, with about a third of storm recovery would be increasingly difficult. D&B’s
all businesses in the impact zone being in retail, lengthy Financial Stress Score forecasts the likelihood of a
power outages would likely have a higher impact on business ceasing operations within the next 12 months.
these businesses. Since most businesses are considered small, with fewer
than 10 employees, the majority of businesses facing
severe financial difficulties in Sandy’s aftermath are also
likely to be small businesses.
In conclusion, Hurricane Sandy will produce a difficult
recovery for many of the businesses located in the
19-county impact zone in New York, New Jersey, and
Connecticut. All told, more than 1 million businesses
and nearly 10 million workers fall inside that zone –
with roughly 73 percent of these businesses classified
as small businesses with less than 10 employees. Many
of these businesses were financially struggling prior to
the storm, making it even more difficult to recover.
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© Dun & Bradstreet, Inc. 2012. All rights reserved. (DB-3375 11/12)