A FLOOD OF BILLS
Rebuild tab to be tens of billions huge losses for 2nd biggest econ in u.s.
THE DAMAGE caused by Hurricane Harvey will cost tens of billions of dollars and take years to overcome, experts said.
Harvey descended on the southeastern Texas coastline, overwhelming Houston, a metropolis of 4.5 million people, and leaving an unprecedented swath of devastation. Ten people were reported dead with the death toll expected to rise.
The damage comes at a time when the area’s economy, driven by the shipping, chemical and oil sectors, is booming.
With a gross state product of $1.7 trillion annually, Texas has the second-largest economy in United States. If it were its own country, it would place 10th — ahead of South Korea and Canada.
Houston and the Gulf Coast region of Texas accounted for 2.9% of the entire U.S. Gross Domestic Product in 2015.
The Gulf Coast has the third most valuable insured coastal property vulnerable to hurricanes in the country behind New York and Florida.
“If you’re talking about lost wages, property damage and rebuilding costs, it’s going to be really bad,” said Michael Carroll, an economist with the University of North Texas.
“I don’t think (Texas) has had something like this in a metro area. It’s such a dense area. I don’t think anyone has come close to this before.” The Port of Houston was closed for the third day, and will be closed Tuesday. A Wednesday shutdown is likely. The major refineries also remained closed. As a result, Forbes estimated that the storm already has removed millions of barrels of oil from the U.S. energy market. Half of the country’s petroleum exports come from Texas, and gas prices will almost certainly rise. “If they shut down all of the refineries, that would affect more than 80,000 people in that sector, and they haven’t been operating because of