Superstorm Sandy Caused Seismic Waves Across Country

Rocked it like a hurricane

Last year's Superstorm Sandy shook and pelted the northeast so violently its effects could be felt clear across the country, scientists said at a Seismological Society of America meeting in Salt Lake City Thursday.

Sandy, which caused more than $70 billion in damages, unleashed such a fury on the Earth through roaring waves that the vibrations in the Earth itself could be picked up by seismometers across the country. Scientists said the rumbles were equivalent to a magnitude-2 or magnitude-3 earthquake, although it's important to remember that earthquakes release their energy in a short burst, while storms are a far more sustained process.