A calamity for cars as well: Up to 1 million destroyed
catastrophicthanin up the HurricaneTheU.S.to Texasearly destroyedany history,1 storm millionother estimates.Gulf aftermathmay Harvey accordingCoast, naturalmore vehicleshave according vehiclesand disasterprobably ruinedto along severalits to Book. abouthave automotivebeen oneIn destroyed,thein sevendata Houstonfirm accordingcars Blackarea, may to an investmentanalysts from banking Evercore advisoryISI, and Harvey research destroyedfirm. about 300,000 to 500,000 vehicles owned by individuals, Cox Automotive chief economist Jonathan Smoke estimates. Insurance is likely to cover a large portion of those losses. Smoke’s projections were based on Houston-area storm damage and vehicle ownership, compared with scrappage rates and insurance claims after Superstorm Sandy in the New York region in 2012 and Hurricane Katrina in the New Orleans area in 2005.
into three home, Michaelas of theircars took whichthe Friendswood.felt homeand damage2 will almostfeet Pansyin requireof theto as LosingGranberrywater painfultheir suburb extensive suspecthave electrical repairs.all three damageThe vehicles couple that will “Thebe too Lexus expensiveis gone;to fix. the Cadillac, my favorite, I just bought at the end of February, won’t do nothing — it’s just blown,” Michael Granberry says. They scrambled to find a rental, which are in high demand. Vehicle ownership rates are higher in Houston than in New Orleans during Katrina and New York during Sandy. Houston has 1.8 vehicles per household compared with 1.6 in New Orleans and 1.3 in New York during the earlier catastrophes. Sandy destroyed about 250,000 vehicles, and Katrina ruined about 200,000, according to Cox Automotive. Other research estimates Katrina’s destruction at closer to half a million cars and trucks, but those figures include vehicles that may have been wrecked by storms that occurred in the region later, including Hurricane Rita and Hurricane Wilma. “It makes sense that the total vehicles damaged will be more severe than we saw in either of those cases,” Smoke says, adding that 300,000 is “a fairly conservative estimate” and that 500,000 is “clearly plausible.” An additional 366,000 new vehicles on dealership lots were probably affected, says Jessica Caldwell of carbuying website Edmunds.