© REUTERS/ Richard CarsonEffects of Hurricane Harvey: Interstate highway 45 submerged, Houston, Texas.
Various disaster modeling firms have chimed in on the impact Harvey will have on the American economy, and the news isn't good.
Weather firm AccuWeather has estimated that the storm will cause a jaw-dropping $160 billion in damages, an amount equal to 0.8 percent of the US economy. "Parts of Houston, the United States' fourth-largest city, will be uninhabitable for weeks and possibly months due to water damage, mold, disease-ridden water and all that will follow this 1,000-year flood," said AccuWeather President Joel Myers in a statement.
"AccuWeather cautions that
the negative impact from the storms are far from over. There will be more flooding, damage, fatalities and injuries," he added. "We urge all citizens near the path of Hurricane Harvey to remain vigilant and be prepared to take immediate action if flood waters rise."
Comment: Dangers are still out there for Houston and surrounding areas...including the impact on the US economy and the toll on the physical and emotional wellbeing of its inhabitants. If we consider this weather anomaly as a parallel phenomenon to the current societal storm, it offers a gigantic message for Americans to pull together and set aside their petty and destructive differences and pay attention to what is good for the whole.