Economic cost of Harvey, Irma could be US$290 billion
WASHINGTON: The combined economic cost of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma could reach US$290 billion, equivalent to 1.5 per cent of the US gross domestic product, US forecaster AccuWeather said in a report.
“We believe the damage estimate from Irma to be about US$100 billion, among the costliest hurricanes of all time,” said the firm’s CEO and founder Joel Myers.
Harvey, which battered Texas and parts of Louisiana in late August, will be “the costliest weather disaster in US history at US$190 billion or one full percentage point of GDP” which stands
We believe the damage estimate from Irma to be about US$100 billion, among the costliest hurricanes of all time. Joel Myers, AccuWeather CEO and founder
at US$19 trillion.
The report said it arrived at the figure by calculating disruptions to business, increased unemployment rates for significant periods of time, damage to transport and infrastructure, crop loss including a 25 per cent drop of orange crop, increased costs of fuels including gasoline, heating oil and jet fuel, household damages and loss of valuable documentation.
Only a fraction of the losses would be covered by insurance, said Myers.
Irma struck the Florida Keys archipelago earlier Sunday and is now bearing north, bearing down on the city of Tampa on the west coast of the Florida peninsula.
Harvey made landfall in Texas in late August, causing severe damage to property and paralyzing the country’s fourth-largest city, Houston, with major flooding. — AFP