Sand bags protect the front of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, Oct. 29, 2012. Hurricane Sandy continued on its path Monday, forcing the shutdown of mass transit, schools and financial markets, sending coastal residents fleeing, and threatening a dangerous mix of high winds and soaking rain. There had been plans to allow electronic trading to go forward on the New York Stock Exchange but with a storm surge expected to cover parts of lower Manhattan in water, officials decided late Sunday that it was too risky to ask any personnel to staff the exchanges. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Sandy unlikely to damage US economy, analysts say
Sand bags protect the front of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, Oct. 29, 2012. Hurricane Sandy continued on its path Monday, forcing the shutdown of mass transit, schools and financial markets, sending coastal residents fleeing, and threatening a dangerous mix of high winds and soaking rain. There had been plans to allow electronic trading to go forward on the New York Stock Exchange but with a storm surge expected to cover parts of lower Manhattan in water, officials decided late Sunday that it was too risky to ask any personnel to staff the exchanges. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
By CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER
AP Economics Writers /
October 30, 2012
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‘‘The challenge isn’t when everyone is hunkered down and there are no cars on the road,’’ says Jeff Lenard of the National Association of Convenience Stores. ‘‘The problem is how fast can you be replenished. You don’t want to be the guy with the bagged pumps.’’
— TELECOMS
When disaster strikes, phone and Internet service often takes a hit, right when it’s needed the most. Phone companies on the eastern seaboard were topping up fuel for backup generators and lining up disaster recovery trailers to move into flooded areas after the storm passes.
Verizon, the largest landline phone company on the East Coast, said the storm had not yet had any major effect, and its network was performing normally. Verizon said all its cell tower sites have at least eight hours of backup power.
At AT&T, employees were adding portable generators to cell towers and checking on fuel levels.
Even if cellphones work, wireless networks may be overloaded by people calling to check in on each other or surfing the Web. That’s why cellphone companies recommend text messaging rather than calling in any disaster, because text messages use much less network capacity.
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AP Business Writers Matthew Craft, Anne D'Innocenzio, Samantha Bomkamp and Joyce M Rosenberg in New York, Joshua Freed in Minneapolis and Tom Krisher and Dee-Ann Durbin in Detroit contributed to this report.
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