"Sandy cough" afflicting homeowners as they clean up debris

I wouldn't be surprised if Aspergillus was the cause. It's a fungus that is produced often on rotting wood. Classically a patient is doing demolition on old rotten planks of decking and they start coughing. The fungus gets into their lungs and can cross over through the nose and across the cribiform plate that's a porous structure to the brain. It's how the sensation of smell is detected by olfaction, but of course this allows mold and fungus to also affect the brain.
[link to www.aspergillus.org.uk]

People who get it are immune-compromised. Maybe their old, working outside in the cold Winter weather, sick with other flu, not sleeping or eating right, etc.

Or it could be the bronchitis that's going through the rest of the country. After going through Sandy, they probably have weakened immune systems and are more likely to fall ill.

We had floods here a few years back. All flood water is filthy. in-law was a hazmat worker and told us don't even try to clean things up yourself. Don't even touch the dry mud on things from the flood water. Let insurance company pay for a professional to clean up, they have suits and masks, gloves and boots to be safe.

He said that stuff can kill you.

If that should happen here again, I will just abandon the property and find a better place to live.