page_title: Hurricane Sandy
section_title: Virginia
hierarchical_section_title: Hurricane Sandy / Impact / United States / Mid-Atlantic / Virginia
caption_attribution_description: Heavy damage occurred to the road leading to the Toms Cove Visitor Center. Credit: USFWS Stay informed www.facebook.com/usfwsnortheast www.twitter.com/usfwsnortheast
context_page_description: Hurricane Sandy was the deadliest and most destructive, as well as the strongest, hurricane of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season. Inflicting nearly $70 billion in damage, it was the second-costliest hurricane on record in the United States until surpassed by Hurricanes Harvey and Maria in 2017. The eighteenth named storm, tenth hurricane, and second major hurricane of the year, Sandy was a Category 3 storm at its peak intensity when it made landfall in Cuba. While it was a Category 2 hurricane off the coast of the Northeastern United States, the storm became the largest Atlantic hurricane on record. At least 233 people were killed along the path of the storm in eight countries.
  Sandy developed from a tropical wave in the western Caribbean Sea on October 22, quickly strengthened, and was upgraded to Tropical Storm Sandy six hours later. Sandy moved slowly northward toward the Greater Antilles and gradually intensified. On October 24, Sandy became a hurricane, made landfall near Kingston, Jamaica, re-emerged a few hours later into the Caribbean Sea and strengthened into a Category 2 hurricane.
context_section_description: On October 29, snow was falling in parts of the state. Gov. Bob McDonnell announced on October 30 that Virginia had been "spared a significant event", but cited concerns about rivers cresting and consequent flooding of major arteries. Virginia was awarded a federal disaster declaration, with Gov. McDonnell saying he was "delighted" that President Barack Obama and FEMA were on it immediately. At Sandy's peak, more than 180,000 customers were without power, most of whom were located in Northern Virginia. There were three Hurricane Sandy-related fatalities in the state.
caption: Damaged road at Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge on Assateague Island
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