Harvey likely to be costliest natural disaster for US economy

With total economic losses estimated to reach tens of billions of dollars at the minimum, Harvey is likely to become one of the costliest natural disasters on record, according to Aon Benfield’s catastrophe model development team Impact Forecasting.

In its monthly Global Catastrophe Recap report, Impact Forecasting suggested that the insured losses - including both those paid by the private industry and the US National Flood Insurance Program - are likely to exceed $10 billion.

Hurricane Harvey came ashore in Texas on August 25, becoming the first major hurricane to make landfall in the US since Hurricane Wilma in 2005.

It brought record-breaking rainfall to some areas, and caused catastrophic levels of flooding across eastern Texas and southwestern Louisiana.

"Hurricane Harvey's landfall in the United States officially put an end to the 11-year major hurricane drought,” said Steve Bowen, Impact Forecasting director and meteorologist.

“The impacts from the cyclone were far-reaching, and the scope of flood damage in Houston – the nation's fourth largest city – was historic. Given the anticipated costs from direct damage and business interruption, it is expected that Harvey will eventually be recorded as one of the costliest natural disasters on record in the US Harvey served as a challenging reminder of how catastrophic hurricane events can be, and with September being the peak of the Atlantic Hurricane Season, the risk of further storms remains high."

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