Harvey, Irma Could Ding U.S. Economy For Combined $290 Billion
AccuWeather estimates huge toll from back-to-back hurricanes.
By Mike Murphy
MarketWatch
September 11, 2017
The one-two punch from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma could cost the U.S. economy up to $290 billion, according to a prediction by AccuWeather on Sunday.
Much as the unusually long period of torrential rainfall caused the most damage in Texas, the unusually long period of high winds is expected to take the greatest toll in Florida, the forecasting company said.
“The size of the storm combined with its slow movement means that hurricane-force wind gusts in some places will occur over a time period of 12 or more hours, so the damage will be compounded,” Joel Myers, AccuWeather’s founder, president and chairman, said in a statement.
As Irma made landfall Sunday, South Florida was hammered by high winds and flooding from both rainfall and storm surge. The storm is expected to leave a destructive swath in its wake as it moves north up Florida’s Gulf Coast, extending far inland.
“We believe the damage estimate from Irma to be about $100 billion, among the costliest hurricanes of all time. This amounts to 0.5 of a percentage point of the GDP of $19 trillion,” Myers said. “We estimated that Hurricane Harvey is to be the costliest weather disaster in U.S. history at $190 billion or one full percentage point of the GDP. Together, AccuWeather predicts these two disasters amount to 1.5 of a percentage point of the GDP, which will about equal and therefore counter the natural growth of the economy for the period of mid-August through the end of the fourth quarter.”
This is the first time two Category 4 hurricanes have hit the U.S. mainland in the same year.
AccuWeather said the economic costs include disruptions to businesses, increased unemployment, damage to infrastructure, crop losses, property damage and increased fuel prices.
“Some of the losses will be covered by insurance, some will not, so the losses will be felt in a variety of ways by millions of people. Many millions of people have already been evacuated, so their lives have already been affected and they have incurred costs of one sort or another,” Myers said.
In a separate report Sunday, catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide estimated combined insurance losses of up to $65 billion in the U.S. and Caribbean.
In the U.S., insured losses from Irma could range from $15 billion to $50 billion, AIR said in a statement, and Caribbean losses could range from $5 billion to $15 billion.
“In Florida, close to 80% of the total insured value is located in coastal counties, where the amount and value of exposure has been growing significantly for decades,” AIR said. The company noted that structural damage was unlikely to approach that of Hurricane Andrew in 1992, thanks to “stronger building codes and better enforcement.”
The one-two punch from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma could cost the U.S. economy up to $290 billion, according to a prediction by AccuWeather on Sunday.
Much as the unusually long period of torrential rainfall caused the most damage in Texas, the unusually long period of high winds is expected to take the greatest toll in Florida, the forecasting company said.
“The size of the storm combined with its slow movement means that hurricane-force wind gusts in some places will occur over a time period of 12 or more hours, so the damage will be compounded,” Joel Myers, AccuWeather’s founder, president and chairman, said in a statement.
As Irma made landfall Sunday, South Florida was hammered by high winds and flooding from both rainfall and storm surge. The storm is expected to leave a destructive swath in its wake as it moves north up Florida’s Gulf Coast, extending far inland.
“We believe the damage estimate from Irma to be about $100 billion, among the costliest hurricanes of all time. This amounts to 0.5 of a percentage point of the GDP of $19 trillion,” Myers said. “We estimated that Hurricane Harvey is to be the costliest weather disaster in U.S. history at $190 billion or one full percentage point of the GDP. Together, AccuWeather predicts these two disasters amount to 1.5 of a percentage point of the GDP, which will about equal and therefore counter the natural growth of the economy for the period of mid-August through the end of the fourth quarter.”
This is the first time two Category 4 hurricanes have hit the U.S. mainland in the same year.
AccuWeather said the economic costs include disruptions to businesses, increased unemployment, damage to infrastructure, crop losses, property damage and increased fuel prices.
“Some of the losses will be covered by insurance, some will not, so the losses will be felt in a variety of ways by millions of people. Many millions of people have already been evacuated, so their lives have already been affected and they have incurred costs of one sort or another,” Myers said.
In a separate report Sunday, catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide estimated combined insurance losses of up to $65 billion in the U.S. and Caribbean.
In the U.S., insured losses from Irma could range from $15 billion to $50 billion, AIR said in a statement, and Caribbean losses could range from $5 billion to $15 billion.
“In Florida, close to 80% of the total insured value is located in coastal counties, where the amount and value of exposure has been growing significantly for decades,” AIR said. The company noted that structural damage was unlikely to approach that of Hurricane Andrew in 1992, thanks to “stronger building codes and better enforcement.”
Article Link To MarketWatch:
0 Response to "Harvey, Irma Could Ding U.S. Economy For Combined $290 Billion"
Post a Comment