Harvey May Be “Costliest Natural Disaster In US History” With $190 Billion Price Tag
by Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge.com
Aug 31, 2017
Tropical Storm Harvey made its second landfall near Cameron, La. on Wednesday after slamming Houston with a staggering 50 inches of rain, the largest rainfall ever recorded in the Continental US. Given the unprecedented devastation, which will likely leave large swaths of Houston, America’s fourth-largest city, uninhabitable for weeks if not months, storm-watchers have scrambled to revise their initial forecasts for damages. Initially, the consensus projection was somewhere around $40 billion, with Moody’s forecast that property damage caused by the storm would total between $30 billion and $40 billion.
If accurate, that would leave Harvey as the fourth-most expensive hurricane in US history, after Hurricane Andrew (1992), Superstorm Sandy (2012) and Hurricane Katrina (2005). However, after five days of torrential rains, one forecaster believes the $30-$40 billion figure would barely cover a quarter of the damage.
Dr. Joel N. Myers, founder, president and chairman of AccuWeather, now believes Harvey could become the costliest natural disaster in US history, ultimately costing the US economy an eye-popping $190 billion in property damage and lost productivity once the “total destruction is completed.” Such an astronomical price tag would be more than the combined costs of Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, he said.
Here’s USA Today:
“Hurricane Harvey could be the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history with a potential price tag of $190 billion, according to a preliminary estimate from private weather firm AccuWeather.
This is equal to the combined cost of Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, and represents a 0.8% economic hit to the gross national product, AccuWeather said.
‘Parts of Houston, the United States’ fourth largest city, will be uninhabitable for weeks and possibly months due to water damage, mold, disease-ridden water and all that will follow this 1,000-year flood,’ said AccuWeather president Joel Myers.”
The Rest…HERE
