Economic losses in Texas from #HurricaneHarvey, which is still pounding the water-logged US state with rain, will be some $58 billion, according to di
Economic losses in Texas from #HurricaneHarvey, which is still pounding the water-logged US state with rain, will be some $58 billion, according to disaster analysts in Germany. If that estimate holds, it would make Harvey the world’s 9th most expensive natural disaster since 1900, according to the Center for Disaster Management and Risk Reduction Technology in Karlsruhe, Germany. It would also push the yearly economic loss from earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, cyclones and other natural cataclysms past $100 billion for the 8th year in a row.
The estimate carries uncertainty range from $41 billion to $80 billion and depending on the next couple of days, we may see this estimate rise, as it only includes Texas at this point. The total flooded exposure, the value of all the capital stock inundated by water, whether five centimetres or five metres in the affected area was estimated at $267 billion. Other calculations of total economic loss have been considerably lower.
German insurance giant Hannover Re’s initial figure for damages was $3 billion, while JP Morgan estimated the insurance sector could be out $10-20 billion. Disaster risk specialists Enki Holdings, based in Savannah, Georgia, put the total tab at above $30 billion.
