The damages suffered all around the Southeastern United States from recent hurricanes were to be expected. But the monetary damages are no slouch.
Following devastation from both Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma, it has been projected that there will now be around $200 billion in overall damages/costs according to recent reports from CNN.
Taking a closer look at the breakdown between the two catastrophes, Harvey has run up an astounding $100 billion in costs around southern Texas. Irma, which began its track through Florida on Saturday is estimated to run up close to $100 billion in damages as well. The main impact for both of these storms will particularly be felt in the short term.
The job hunt will become that much tougher and many industries are certain to feel an immediate impact on production. Local stores will also surely see a dip in sales as people find their feet again and get back into a routine. It has been reported that Texas is already seeing an impact from Harvey in the oil industry, one of its biggest commodities.
Compared to one of the more recent and damaging storms from our memories, these two storms combined look like they will outdo the damages from Hurricane Katrina. Taking inflation into consideration, Katrina ran up over $160 billion in damages. Currently, it stands as the most costly disaster in United States history. On a singular level, it seems as though it will keep the infamous title, but not by much.
On the bright side of the bad news, economies generally do pickup in the long-term following such destruction. The demand for goods and rebuilding will overcome the destruction that we see today. For now, it looks like Florida and the rest of the U.S. are in the clear of anything too destructive. Hurricane Jose is currently on the radar for those in Florida; however, this looks to be a much smaller system that shouldn’t generate too much concern for now. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.
