> Some Want Bush To Give Details on How U.S. Will Pay
Wait til they see what Rita does in damage to the Texas coast, particularly if we get hit in the Galveston-Houston area as anticipated:
Houston Chronicle - SciGuy Blog:
Ready for some preliminary damage estimates? Unfortunately, I think these estimates may end up being low. Keep this in mind: Allison caused about $5.8 billion in damage (adjusted for inflation), and Alicia $4.4 billion.
Rita's damage:
Texas: $7.55 billion
Harris County: $2.7 billion wind, $393 million flood Galveston County: $310 million wind, $1.9 billion flood Fort Bend County: $583 million wind, $0 flood Brazoria County: $372 million wind, $39 million flood Jefferson County: $11.6 million wind, $203 million flood Chambers County: $10.1 million wind, $73 million flood
Bear in mind these estimates are horribly unreliable, but interesting nonetheless. For all states, Rita causes $10 billion in damage.
Source: http://blogs.chron.com/sciguy/ who is citing figures from http://hurricane.methaz.org/hurapak/AAL182005_48000.html
Further, depending on how this hits, you may also see all of Johnson Space Center flooded and/or severely damaged, the numerous refineries and chemical plants that supply approximately 25% of the country's petro supply severely damaged or otherwise compromised, the ports of Galveston and Houston crippled.
'Course, I'm hopin' like hell it doesn't come to that, but we're treating this thing seriously in H-town.
- Deborah
Far west Harris Co.