slate "The Economy Minus Houston"

[NRaleighLiberal]

http://www.slate.com/articles/business/moneybox/2017/08/what_it_means_for_the_economy_when_a_city_like_houston_shuts_down.html

What it means for our heavily networked country when one of its biggest nodes goes down.

By Daniel Gross

It’s too early to tally the economic losses from Hurricane Harvey. But with the waters yet to subside, analysts are already suggesting that the financial impact of Harvey may not be as bad as Katrina was—at least for insurers. As CNBC reported on Monday, “Damages from Harvey, the hurricane and tropical storm ravaging Houston and the Texas Gulf Coast, are estimated to be well below those from major storms that have hit New Orleans and New York, according to [reinsurance company] Hannover Re.”

The analysis may be correct when it comes to the financial losses suffered by insurers. But the suffering is massive—in this natural disaster and in every natural disaster. And while it is understandable to look at Harvey through the lens of Katrina—they’re both hurricanes that swamped low-lying Gulf Coast areas with lots of energy infrastructure—doing so doesn’t provide the clearest possible picture of the economic damage. And it misconstrues the relative importance and economic power of New Orleans and Houston.

For the U.S. economy to lose New Orleans for a couple of weeks was a human and cultural disaster and an economic challenge. For the U.S. economy to lose Houston for a couple of weeks is a human disaster—and an economic disaster, too.


The Houston metropolitan area, with a population of well over 6 million, has nearly five times the number of people as the New Orleans metropolitan area. More significantly, Houston has more than five time as many jobs as New Orleans, 3.06 million to 578,000. And they tend to be well-paying jobs. The Houston metropolitan area gross domestic product in 2015 was $503 billion, compared with $78 billion for New Orleans. For any retailer or large e-commerce company, the Houston region likely represents close to 3 percent of annual sales.


snip - much more to read at the link above

[Xipe Totec]

1. The only reason it won't be as bad as Katrina for insurers is that flood insurance is federal

So they administer, but they don't pay for flood damage. And besides, only one in 6 houses in Houston had flood insurance.

[Phoenix61]

2. Not to mention I-10 is the major

East-West artery for the entire south. I know there's ways around it but... Haven't heard anything about the port but I'm guessing if it's not closed, there's no way to get anything into or out of it.