Hurricane Florence devastated the East coast, particularly South Carolina, North Carolina, and Maryland in September of 2018. It hit land on August 31st, 2018 and the storm and resulting flooding lasted until the 19th of September. Storms similar to this, such as Hurricane Harvey, which hit Houston in 2017, and Hurricane Irma, which hit the West coast of Florida in 2017, greatly impact the nation’s economy due to the high cost of repairing and rebuilding damaged homes and buildings, death and destruction to livestock and farm land, and the temporary shut down of businesses in the aftermath of the storm. Ultimately, some businesses benefit from the hurricane, such as, insurance and finance companies and for disaster recovery, including, North Star Group Services.
The estimated total cost to repair damages from Florence is $17-$22 billion dollars and this number could increase (Domm). This includes housing, schools, and other buildings. Based on the visual, we can tell that this cost is far less than those of past devastating hurricanes. Fortunately, the 2 major ports in the Carolinas were not significantly damaged. The Port of Charleston is significant for the US economy as a cruise ship destination and because it handles a large amount of motor vehicle imports and exports. In 2015, the Port of Charleston ranked as the 6th port in the United States by cargo value, with $75 billion in imports and exports traded across the docks so it is important to the US economy to keep it fully functioning (Port). According to Zandi, the author of this article, he predicts that there will be, “about a 0.2 percentage point hit to GDP,” (Domm). This is only about half the impact that Hurricane Harvey had on Houston and 1/6 of the impact that Hurricane Irma had on Florida.
Due to the amount of damage Hurricane Florence inflicted on the east coast there will be an abundance of job opportunities in construction and for retailers that sell buildings and supplies (Wiseman). This will aid the US economy because it will potentially reduce the amount of unemployment and reduce the amount of poverty in the US. This will also boost the profits in those retailing businesses.
Some of the companies in the area handled waste of animals, “including toxic animal waste containment sites, which sent bacteria and hazardous chemicals into the water,” (Irfan). All the bacteria and hazardous chemicals need to be cleaned up in some way and that will cost money. Not only will costs need to be utilized in rebuilding and fixing up damaged buildings, it will be needed to clean up the streets of materials from those houses and buildings but also the chemicals and bacteria that is in the flood waters.
Overall, this hurricane will not have as large of an effect on the US economy as past hurricanes have. “Hurricanes Harvey (in Texas) and Irma (in Florida) last year sliced U.S. economic growth in the third quarter by about a half-percentage point. And the storms caused a whopping $180 billion in damage.” Compare this to Hurricane Florence which is projected to, “shave economic growth in the current quarter by one- to two-tenths of a percentage point,” (Davidson) and we can see by the data that the two hurricanes last year took a much greater toll on the economy than Florence will.
Ultimately, the costs and the effect on the economy are not the most important thing when it comes to natural disasters. The most important data points are the number of lives lost and people affected. The numbers are important when it comes to rebuilding those people’s lives and giving them comfort and support through the process.
Works Cited
Davidson, Paul. “Hurricane Florence, despite Destruction, Will Likely Have Small Impact on US Economy.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 18 Sept. 2018.
Domm, Patti. “Hurricane Florence Damage Estimated at $17 Billion to $22 Billion - Moody's Analytics.” CNBC, CNBC, 17 Sept. 2018.
Irfan, Umair. “Hurricane Florence Caused up to $22 Billion in Damages. Climate Change Made the Storm Worse.” Vox, Vox, 3 Oct. 2018.
“Port of Charleston.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 30 Apr. 2018.
Wiseman, Paul. “Businesses Are Bracing for Hurricane Florence. Here's How It Will Effect Costal Economies.” Inc.com, Inc., 13 Sept. 2018.
Don't forget about prices. Since Huricane Harvey, Irma, and now Hurricane Florence reaching landfall and destroying businesses, schools, and livestock prices are going to rise. This is because shortage of resources, and this hurts the economy because in a time like this people need products, they can't work because their place of work is destroyed, or a shortage of that resource happened causing these high prices. Also after a natural disaster the demand for certain products is going to cause the prices to rise.
ReplyDeleteThis was a very intruding, mostly due to the fact that the Hurricane Florence has been the fourth hurricane in the past two years to devastate the south and southeast parts of the nation. Although the economic damage wasn't as bad as some other hurricanes, the hurricane hit three states (NC, SC and Maryland) which will cause the repairing cost in the country to be extremely high. We have proven to come back from these natural disasters successfully but it will take time and there already is another Hurricane (Michael) on the way towards Florida. Hopefully an economic transition after the natural disasters causes the nation to handle the situation with more positive reinforcement then they already have proven.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting how little the hurricane will effect the economy, and I do agree with what you have stated. The economy should recover ok even if some crops and livestock are hit. It may raise the prices a little bit on some crops and meat prices, but overall it won't really hurt out economy too much. It will be interesting to see how the United States recovers from this hurricane as well as hurricane Michael which is tearing up Florida right now.
ReplyDeleteThis was very interesting to read about and I learned a few things I hadn’t known before. I never thought about the amount of waste and toxic chemicals that get carried away by the flood into our streets and backyards. It is kind of gross to think a waste products from farm animals gets mixed in with the flood water and carried in all different directions. The cost of cleaning all this up is very expensive and I never really thought about this. However, I think even though hurricanes increase job opportunities for those who want to join the construction field. I feel as if this doesn’t make up economic loss from all the damage. It may be good for people who want a job, but that small economic growth doesn’t make up for all the loss from damage.
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ReplyDeleteI agree with your concluding statement that the most important data is the number of lives lost and the people that were affected by the disaster. That is what has the most lasting effect on the economy. It can take years to recover from natural disasters. For example, just last year, my church took a mission trip to New Jersey to work on houses being rebuilt from Hurricane Sandy. Even 5 years later, some people were still waiting for their homes to be repaired. Thinking of not only the emotional toll this must take, but also the financial burden of having to live with family or even in a motel for years, not knowing when you would have your own place to live again, I think that is the biggest strain on the economic well-being of hurricane victims.
ReplyDeleteEven though the economic damage Hurricane Florence will cause is not as great as prior hurricanes, it will still impact many people and cost a lot of money. If the cost to repair the damage Florence created is 17 to 22 billion dollars, that’s still a lot of money that is being put towards fixing the hurricane’s trail. Prices will also begin to change because of the flooding, leaving resources in scarcity and causing prices to rise. I agree that Florence isn’t the worst of hurricanes, but the damage it has left is still economically difficult for those particular states.
ReplyDeleteI really liked how you talked about the contamination of the flood water from the treatment plants. Of all the things to talk about the damage of a hurricane, talking about the hazardous damage is very unique. One thing I did want to ask though was something you said in the first paragraph. You said that one of the businesses to benefit from this hurricane would be insurance companies. I don't really know what insurance companies do when natural disasters hit but wouldn't they not benefit from a disaster like this because they would have to pay people for their damaged homes and businesses? Wouldn't they be spending more in times like this than making more?
ReplyDeleteI agree with Luke’s claim that Hurricane Florence will not have as large of an effect on the United States economy as previous hurricanes, but the effect is still large. Although there is not as great of an effect on the economy, the economy still takes a hit with any natural disaster. Resources, lives, jobs, buildings/towns, and money are all lost when a natural disaster occurs. 17-22 billion dollars might be less than the 180 billion dollars that cost the United States when hurricanes Harvey and Irma had hit last year, but it is still a lot of money for a country who is in about 24 trillion dollars in dept.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting that what we thought would be one of the biggest hurricanes was actually not as damaging as previous hurricanes that struck land in the past. I like how you compared Hurricane Florence to others in the past and explained the economic growth deficits after these natural disasters. If there's one thing we can't control about the growth of our economy, it's unpredicted disasters that can happen at any moment in time. Regardless, the US is prepared to deal with mother nature and whatever it throws at us. The Florida coast and other states will have to recover and rebuild from the $22 billion in damages, and may face economic growth challenges. It would be interesting to look at specifically how businesses that provide aid and other states that help out along the coast benefit or also face economic challenges in providing their resources to the public. What do you think happens to the economy of the country as a whole?
ReplyDeleteUnpredictable disasters such as hurricanes can happen at any moment. These disasters can decimate an economy and make living conditions extremely hard for citizens. In this case, Florida will have to recover from their most recent hurricane as they are still feeling effects from their 2017 hurricane as well. This will put some extra stress on their somewhat fragile economy. I predict that their will also be a shortage of basic goods as more people or going to be demanding clean water and fresh food when the suppliers might not necessarily be able to provide those goods.
ReplyDeleteWithout a doubt, Hurricane Florence is going to tremendously impact the economy. Important factors such as tourism and fishing industries are going to be shut down until the east coast can be rebuilt and restored to what it once was. This restoration process is going to take a significant amount of time and money which is going to divert the government attention from other important issues occurring in our nation. I just hope that there isn't another serve storm that hits the east coast since hurricanes are still in season. It is also going to be interesting to see how Hurricane Micheal is going to impact the economy on Florida's panhandle and the rest of the Gulf since this storm was even bigger than Florence.
ReplyDeleteSo sad to think about all of the land and mass populations that are effected by natural disasters, every year a hurricane makes land fall on a coast somewhere around the country Hurricane Florence dug a hole so deep into Florida's economy with the billions of dollars that the clean up is going to take is just outright insane. An estimated 22 billion dollars in repairs is expected. Florida due to the outrageous amount of money put towards clean up efforts the economy could have some growth challenges in the coming years.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your point about how some insurance, finance, and disaster recovery businesses have the ability to benefit from these disasters by raising rates for people in affected areas. This just made me curious about whether insurance companies benefit more when storms occur or when they don't occur. If storms occur, they can raise rates for their customers. But also, if storms don't occur (or are minor) they don't have to pay as much for the damages of their customers. The question is, does raising the rates after a storm offset the storm damage the insurance company has to cover?
ReplyDeleteNatural disasters are a big part of the economy because they are unpredictable and costly. Another example could be the wildfires in California which have cost $31.7 billion in the next two years. These have similar effects as what you talked about with the hurricanes, because the fires create many jobs to repair the damage, pay out insurance, and most importantly firefighters. I do agree that the main thing is the lives lost and the safety, as you said in the final paragraph.
ReplyDeleteNatural disasters play a big role in the economy. Spanning from the costs to repair and rebuild to how the economy will build back up after the disaster. When disasters hit, it takes years, sometimes decades to build the economy back up to a stable place. In this case, Florida is still having to build their economy up, after the 2017 hurricane. Although theses times are devastating, it will have a long lasting, positive effect on the people and economy. As you stated, pitching in to help repair and rebuild after the hurricane will create many jobs for the people. But also create a mindset of, nothing will stops us excel.
ReplyDeleteIt’s interesting to see how much hurricanes can affect the economy. Here in Wisconsin this is not something we really have to worry about because we don’t get hit by hurricanes but truly is does affect us with it affecting the U.S. economy. There is a much higher demand in other areas though, like building companies and canned goods as these become necessary to rebuild and to have something small to eat that can be stored without a fridge. The demand for certain things is going to rise because there is a need for certain things while the demand for other things will decline as people focus more on what they really need instead of what they really want.
ReplyDeleteNot only is the damage from Hurricane Florence going to cost millions of dollars in repairs, but it will also have a high opportunity cost- time. Companies have to clean up this mess, whether they want to or not, but it will cost them valuable time they are not going to get back. When they are cleaning and spending money on repairs, they could be working. If lots and lots of companies are going through this as well, the economy might take a hit because people are spending lots and time and money on repairing damage from the storm instead of working hard on their business, causing a greater loss in company money.
ReplyDeleteHurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, all of the natural weather phenomenons play a huge role on today's economy in many ways. That state could be on path to a major depression but other states might be rising because the state that got hit might have to take some goods and services from any surrounding state which will boost the state's economy. The other thing is too when a hurricane is about to hit shore there is a panic to get all of the supplies from a store and that’s when the stores make the most money because they can jack up the prices and people will still buy the goods because they have too in order to wait out the storm. Over all in the economy they have a negative impact because the ports along the oceans are at a stop because the hurricane will do some damage to the port and all of the containers that the goods come in. But other people think that a hurricane is super bad for the economy which is true but I believe that it’s bad for the states that got hit but its good for all the other states that are sending resources to help out with the aftermath.
ReplyDeleteAll these disasters cost us so much. Its sad to hear theses things that happen to other people that are out there try but then a storm comes in and destroys what they worked for and what they have accomplished. These storms are a thing that we can not stop but we can work on stopping the destruction or at least decreasing it.
ReplyDeleteThe imports and exports part are what surprises me since that is such a high number to lose. Will, they ever get those back up to where they used to be or will we have to rely on another state to take over that position? Also, I feel bad for all those people, because $17 - $22 billion is a lot of money that is lost. At least they are able to recover from this and hopefully, they will be able to make those jobs as you said. Otherwise, they might be going really downwards in the economy as a state.
ReplyDeleteSomething you could include in here would be the difference in death tolls to see what kind of impact that had on the economy. Depending on how many people have died or been injured it can change a lot about the income of the economy, even if businesses are down for a short while, there will just be a more long lasting effect. For example, hurricanes of the past such as hurricane Mitch in the 1980’s killed more than 10,000 people, leaving millions homeless and without work, while currently the death toll of hurricane Florence is around 40.
ReplyDeleteIt is always interesting to hear how the economy responds to natural disasters. I thought it was interesting that you mentioned how there would be little economic because of the hurricane, while I don’t think it will offset much of the loss made by the hurricane. Another question we should ask is, how much will the Atlantic seaboard ever recover from hurricanes? There have been 8 category 5 hurricanes that have hit the eastern seaboard of the United States since 2000. Will we really ever get to fully recover the damage done by these storms?
ReplyDeleteI agree with the fact that hurricanes cost so much damage that it will take months perhaps years to repair all the damage from those tragic disasters not only that though but so many people throughout the states that got hit by those dangerous storms have also been affected by having no homes. I also agree that after a hurricane would hit, the damage costs would raise to the roof due to the fact that basically everything was destroyed from flooding, damaged winds tearing down houses and properties.
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