Harvey may be one of the most expensive natural disasters in the history of the United States, however, putting an exact figure on the costs is difficult, Newsmax reports.
According to a NBC News report, there are two financial measurements in play: insured losses, which accounts for what insurance companies pay out, and the impact on the economy.
Figures are expected to be large, as more than 50 inches of rain has fallen on Texas since Harvey made landfall last Friday night as a category 4 hurricane. Since then, it has been downgraded to a tropical storm and is now dumping rain on southwest Louisiana.
On Tuesday, AccuWeather predicted that Harvey could ultimately cost $190 billion which would make it the costliest storm in U.S. history, since Hurricane Katrina in 2005 cost the economy an estimated $160 billion.
According to chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, Mark Zandi, the storm will “certainly going to be in the top five”, CNN reports. Moody’s estimates that property losses will total between $45 billion to $65 billion, while economic losses will add $6 billion to $10 billion.
A $75 billion price tag would make it the second most costly natural disaster, as superstorm Sandy in 2012, which currently ranks second, caused $73 billion in damage when adjusted into today’s dollars.
CNN also reports that the most recent preliminary forecast by Enki Research puts losses in a similar range – between $48 billion to as much as $75 billion.
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