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One Category 5 hurricane is devastating enough for any national economy. However, what happens when a second natural catastrophe similar in powers hit the same country after only two weeks from the first one? Experts believe the economic toll of this double distress will leave significant financial marks behind for an extended time.
Both Hurricanes that Impacted the U.S. Will Register an Economic Toll of Tens of Billions of Dollars
At the end of August, Hurricane Harvey hit parts of Texas with utmost rage decimating local communities and valuable properties. As of this weekend, Hurricane Irma reached Florida and wreaked havoc across Miami and its coasts. On top of that, the storm is heading towards populous Tampa yet with weaker powers.
In the end, both natural disasters will generate a heavy economic toll. A catastrophe modeling organization, RMS, reviewed the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey only to find that insurances will have to cover damage quotas of between $25 billion and $35 billion. However, the uninsured areas will support a bigger bulk of a total between $70 billion and $90 billion.
However, the company doesn’t have enough data to measure the extent of Irma’s damages. It is too early to predict the economic impact of such a calamity. Not even the state of Florida started all its recovery operations as of yet.
On the other hand, another catastrophe modeling company, AIR Worldwide, claimed that it expects Irma to lead to a sum between $15 billion and 50$ billion of insured losses. The Caribbean Islands might round up the financial damages to $65 billion.
Not Only Local Valuable Properties but the Job Market as Well Were Affected
Nonetheless, Hurricane Irma didn’t follow experts’ expectations. Instead of going straight north, the storm took a detour on the west side. Therefore, it is prone to reach Naples and Fort Meyers before hitting Tampa. On top of that, the hurricane caused landfall in the Florida Keys on Sunday.
However, property damage is not the only factor that impacts the national economy. The job market had a lot to suffer after Harvey, and Irma can only fuel the fire. This can really hurt short-term economic growth which could have helped with natural disaster recovery.
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