Hurricane Beryl made landfall in the Houston area on July 8 as a Category 1 storm. Sustained winds of up to 80 miles per hour and rainfall of up to eight inches across the metropolitan area caused significant damage. Flooding, downed trees, power outages, and structural damage were extensive, with preliminary estimates of $1.5 billion in Texas and $2.5 billion across the United States. The storm had weakened compared to the Category 4 and 5 levels reached as it caused massive destruction in the Caribbean. The Yucatan Peninsula and northern Venezuela were also affected.
The loss of life and human suffering is of paramount importance and should be the primary concern, as well as enormous emotional losses. Long-lasting power outages compound the difficulties, particularly given the summer heat.
Direct damage is only a part of the economic implications of the hurricane. Any economic stimulus, whether positive or negative, leads to additional responses and multiple rounds of business activity. Business operations have been interrupted, causing lost revenue and profits even beyond the damage to facilities. In many cases, these revenues cannot be recouped. Productivity has also been affected as workers are either absent due to problems with their homes and property or less effective on the job as they deal with those issues.
