飓风“桑迪”造成的损失可能超过“艾琳”

Hurricane Sandy caused massive disruptions to U.S. businesses and threatened billions of dollars in damage to a region packed with corporate headquarters, retail stores and transportation hubs.

飓风“桑迪(Sandy)严重中断了美国企业的运营，并可能给一个公司总部、零售商店和交通枢纽林立的地区造成数十亿美元的损失。

At the storm's approach, banks, retailers, stock exchanges and manufacturers including General Motors Co. sent workers in the storm's path home. Shuttered highways, tunnels, public transportation and airports made travel impossible up and down the busy Northeast corridor.

随着飓风“桑迪的临近，银行、零售商店、证券交易所和包括通用汽车公司(General Motors Co.)在内的制造类企业都将风暴途经地区的工人送回了家。暂时关闭的公路、隧道、公共交通和机场使得上下穿行东北部地区繁忙的交通要道变得不可能。

The pain is likely to persist for days given widespread power outages and long periods of heavy wind and rain. By late Monday, hundreds of thousands were already without power in the Northeast.

鉴于大面积停电和长时间的狂风暴雨，飓风造成的痛苦可能会持续数天。截至周一晚上，东北部地区数十万户家庭已经断电。

Estimates for the financial consequences of the storm in the U.S. run to the billions of dollars. Disaster-modeling company Eqecat said the storm could cost the insurers between $5 billion and $10 billion. The Global Business Travel Association last year estimated that a large hurricane costs airlines, Amtrak, rental car companies and hotels nearly $700 million in lost or deferred business-travel spending. Joe Bates, vice president of research for the association, said the tally could be much larger for the longer-lasting and farther-reaching Hurricane Sandy.

估计飓风给美国带来的经济损失将达到数十亿美元。灾害建模公司Eqecat说，这场飓风可能给保险公司带来50亿至100亿美元的赔付支出。全球商务旅行协会(Global Business Travel Association)去年估计，由于取消或推迟的商旅支出，一场大飓风会给航空公司、美铁(Amtrak)、租车公司和酒店带来接近七亿美元的损失。该协会负责研究的副总裁贝茨(Joe Bates)说，对于持续时间更长、影响范围更广的飓风“桑迪来说，损失可能会高得多。

The broader impacts on the U.S. economy should be 'noticeable but temporary,' said economists at Moody's Analytics. Sales, wages and productivity will all take a big hit. The storm, for instance, is arriving at the tail end of the $8 billion Halloween retail season. But some sales can be made up later, and the storm will drive purchases of items like plywood and generators that wouldn't otherwise have been sold.

Moody's Analytics的经济学家说，此次飓风给美国经济带来的更广泛影响可能是“明显但短暂的。销售额、工资和生产率也将受到很大冲击。比如飓风登陆的时候正值规模达80亿美元的万圣节零售旺季的尾声。但损失的部分销售额随后会得到弥补，且飓风还会拉动胶合板和发电机等平时卖不了那么多的商品的销售。

Airlines and shippers expect an extended disruption will costing them millions of dollars and leaving thousands of fliers and goods stranded. Airlines had canceled a total of more than 14,600 flights as of late Monday, according to the companies and flight-tracking website FlightAware.com, more than the roughly 10,000 total flights cancelled due to Hurricane Irene in 2011.

航空公司和航运企业预计业务中断延长将给他们带来数百万美元的损失，并导致数以千计的乘客和货物滞留。航空公司和航班追踪网站FlightAware.com的信息显示，截至周一晚上，航空公司已经取消了总共超过1.46万个航班，这一数字高于2011年“艾琳(Irene)飓风期间取消的大约一万个航班。

Seaports from Virginia to Boston were idled in the middle of the freight-transport industry's peak season delivering goods to retailers for holiday shopping. CSX Corp., the East Coast's largest rail operator, closed tracks from Richmond, Va., north to Albany, N.Y., telling customers to expect at least three days of delays. Trucking companies including YRC Worldwide Inc. ordered their drivers to park outside the area of the storm.

现在本该是货物运输业的旺季，但从弗吉尼亚州到波士顿的多个海港却处于闲置状态。处于假日购物旺季期间的这些港口本应忙着将货物运送给各零售商。东海岸最大的铁路运营商CSX Corp.关闭了从弗吉尼亚州里士满(Richmond, Va.)北上纽约州奥尔巴尼(Albany, N.Y.)的多条铁路，并告诉客户预计会出现至少三天的延迟。包括YRC Worldwide Inc.在内的卡车货运公司则命令司机将车停在飓风途径区域以外的地方。

Financial firms shifted operations to backup facilities and made accommodations for customers and employees and as they closed offices in the storm's path. As part of its 'resiliency planning,' most J.P. Morgan Chase JPM -1.22% & Co. facilities will be open during the storm except for major office centers in lower Manhattan, according to a memo the New York bank sent to employees on Monday.

金融企业则将业务转移到备份设施去处理，关闭了飓风途经沿线的办公室，并为客户和员工提供膳宿。摩根大通(J.P. Morgan Chase)周一发给员工的一份备忘录显示，作为该公司“复原计划(resiliency planning)的一部分，除了位于曼哈顿下城的主办公中心，摩根大通大部分办公场所在飓风期间将继续开放。

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the regulator for federally chartered banks and thrifts, said financial institutions directly affected by the storm were allowed to close though it urged them to reopen as quickly as possible.

负责监管联邦特许银行和储蓄机构的美国财政部金融局(Office of the Comptroller of the Currency)说，直接受飓风影响的金融机构可以停业，但金融局敦促金融机构尽快恢复营业。

The storm presented a mixed bag for retailers. Hurricane Sandy will 'disrupt last minute Halloween sales and mall traffic but drive stock-up trips to discounters,' said Citigroup retail analyst Deborah Weinswig.

飓风给零售业带来的影响好坏参半。花旗集团(Citigroup)零售业分析师韦恩斯威格(Deborah Weinswig)说，飓风“桑迪打乱了万圣节销售季尾声的销售，减少了商场客流量，但却大幅拉升了折扣店的销售额。

It encourages sales of merchandise like food, generators and water as customers plan for days without power or access to groceries. At Sears stores along the East Coast that were still open, tools and generators 'were flying off shelves,' Sears Holdings Corp. spokesman Tom Aiello said. 'With the storm being 1,000 miles wide, we are closely monitoring road restrictions, flooding and power outages' to determine if more closings are necessary, he added.

飓风拉动了食品、发电机和饮用水等商品的销售，因为顾客预计会出现数天停电或无法去杂货铺的可能。西尔斯控股公司(Sears Holdings Corp.)发言人艾洛(Tom Aiello)说，在东海岸那些仍在营业的西尔斯百货店，工具和发电机被抢购一空。他说，由于飓风影响的范围宽达1,000英里（约合1,609.34公里），我们正在密切关注道路交通限制、洪水和停电信息，以决定是否有必要关闭更多门店。