HOBOKEN, NJ-The misery of stranded people in parts of New Jersey--Hoboken comes to mind—is palatable on the screen and in the stories circulating the web. Even life's little chores—filling a prescription for example—has become all but impossible. Indeed, as the Huffington Post reports, there are hundreds of drugstores in New York and New Jersey that remain shuttered. In Hackensack, NJ, there is reportedly only one filling prescriptions at press time.

Such stories also highlight the economic impact Sandy will have—not just in damage to property but in lost business and retail sales. Citigroup analyst Oliver Chen reports, via Wall Street Cheat Sheet, that some retailers such as American Eagle Outfitters had as many as 32% of its stores in Sandy's path and that on average, the retail industry had about 24% of its locations in the storm region.

Greg Maloney, president and CEO of Jones Lang LaSalle Retail, a major third-party shopping center manager, told the International Council of Shopping Centers that five JLL-managed properties were still recovering. "We're hopeful they'll be operational in the next couple of days," he told the International Council of Shopping Centers. While some shopping centers are expecting to stay closed for as long as a week, there have been openings, ICSC further reports. Westfield's Garden State Plaza, in Paramus, NJ, was open, "with its parking lot filled to capacity," ISCS said. Also, open is Vornado's Outlets at Bergen Town Center and Simon Property Group's Roosevelt Field on Long Island.

For those keeping track, the aggregate bill from Superstorm Sandy is now estimated to be $50 billion, according to separate calculations by Moody's Analytics and Eqecat (via the Hill's On the Money blog). The good news is that Moody's Analytics doesn’t expect Sandy to hurt GDP. While the storm might cost a percentage point in the fourth quarter, it will likely provide a similar boost for the first quarter of 2014. How much comfort that is to retail owners right now, though, is debatable.