{"id":83046,"date":"2017-09-04T13:29:25","date_gmt":"2017-09-04T17:29:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/?p=83046"},"modified":"2017-09-04T13:29:25","modified_gmt":"2017-09-04T17:29:25","slug":"hurricane-harvey-damages-could-cost-up-to-180-billion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/?p=83046","title":{"rendered":"Hurricane Harvey Damages Could Cost up to $180 Billion"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><!--more--><br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/players.brightcove.net\/2111767321001\/default_default\/index.html?videoId=5559802639001\" width=\"300\" height=\"150\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>REUTERS<\/p>\n<p class=\"column small-12 medium-10 medium-offset-1 large-offset-2 text size-1x-large line-height-large _10M0Ygc4\" data-reactid=\"209\"><a href=\"http:\/\/fortune.com\/2017\/08\/07\/steve-mnuchin-15-million-conflict-of-interest-rules\/?iid=sr-link2\" rel=\"\" data-reactid=\"210\">U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin<\/a>\u00a0on Sunday challenged Congress to raise the government&#8217;s debt limit in order to free up relief spending for\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/fortune.com\/2017\/09\/02\/hurricane-harvey-ethylene-plastic-supply\/?iid=sr-link2\" rel=\"\" data-reactid=\"213\">Hurricane Harvey<\/a>, a disaster that the governor of Texas said could require up to $180 billion.<\/p>\n<p class=\"column small-12 medium-10 medium-offset-1 large-offset-2 text size-1x-large line-height-large _10M0Ygc4\" data-reactid=\"216\"><a href=\"http:\/\/fortune.com\/2017\/08\/28\/hurricane-harvey-tax-deductions\/?iid=sr-link3\" rel=\"\" data-reactid=\"217\">Harvey<\/a>, which came ashore on August 25 as the most powerful hurricane to hit\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/fortune.com\/2017\/08\/24\/hurricane-harvey-texas-oil\/?iid=sr-link2\" rel=\"\" data-reactid=\"220\">Texas<\/a>\u00a0in more than 50 years, has killed an estimated 50 people, displaced more than 1 million and damaged some 200,000 homes in a path of destruction stretching for more than 300 miles (480 kms).<\/p>\n<p class=\"column small-12 medium-10 medium-offset-1 large-offset-2 text size-1x-large line-height-large _10M0Ygc4\" data-reactid=\"224\">As the city of\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/fortune.com\/2017\/08\/28\/airports-hurricane-harvey\/?iid=sr-link1\" rel=\"\" data-reactid=\"226\">Houston<\/a>\u00a0and the region&#8217;s critical energy infrastructure edged back to normal nine days after the storm first hit, the debate over how to pay for the disaster played out in Washington.<\/p>\n<p class=\"column small-12 medium-10 medium-offset-1 large-offset-2 text size-1x-large line-height-large _10M0Ygc4\" data-reactid=\"229\">Texas Governor Greg Abbott estimated damage from Hurricane Harvey at $150 billion to $180 billion, calling it more costly than epic Hurricanes Katrina or Sandy, which devastated New Orleans in 2005 and New York City in 2012.<span style=\"font-size: 12px;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"column small-12 medium-10 medium-offset-1 large-offset-2 text size-1x-large line-height-large _10M0Ygc4\" data-reactid=\"262\">The administration of\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/fortune.com\/2017\/09\/02\/donald-trump-texas-visit-hurricane-harvey\/?iid=sr-link1\" rel=\"\" data-reactid=\"264\">U.S. President Donald Trump<\/a>has asked Congress for an initial $7.85 billion for recovery efforts, a fraction of what will eventually be needed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"column small-12 medium-10 medium-offset-1 large-offset-2 text size-1x-large line-height-large _10M0Ygc4\" data-reactid=\"267\">Even that amount could be delayed unless\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/fortune.com\/2017\/08\/29\/congress-trump-productivity\/?iid=sr-link1\" rel=\"\" data-reactid=\"269\">Congress<\/a>quickly increases the government&#8217;s debt ceiling, Mnuchin said, as the United States is on track to hit its mandated borrowing limit by the end of the month unless Congress increases it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"column small-12 medium-10 medium-offset-1 large-offset-2 text size-1x-large line-height-large _10M0Ygc4\" data-reactid=\"272\">&#8220;Without raising the debt limit, I am not comfortable that we will get money to Texas this month to rebuild,&#8221; Mnuchin told Fox News.<\/p>\n<p class=\"column small-12 medium-10 medium-offset-1 large-offset-2 text size-1x-large line-height-large _10M0Ygc4\" data-reactid=\"274\">Republican lawmakers, who control both houses of Congress, have traditionally resisted raising the debt ceiling, but linking the issue to hurricane relief could force their hand with people suffering and much of the fourth-largest U.S. city under water.<\/p>\n<p class=\"column small-12 medium-10 medium-offset-1 large-offset-2 text size-1x-large line-height-large _10M0Ygc4\" data-reactid=\"279\">Beyond the immediate funding, any massive aid package faces budget pressures at a time when Trump is advocating for tax reform or tax cuts, leading some on Capitol Hill to suggest aid may be released in a series of smaller appropriations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"column small-12 medium-10 medium-offset-1 large-offset-2 text size-1x-large line-height-large _10M0Ygc4\" data-reactid=\"281\">Katrina set the record by costing U.S. taxpayers more than $110 billion. In advocating for funds to help rebuild his state, Abbott said damage from Harvey would exceed that.<\/p>\n<p class=\"column small-12 medium-10 medium-offset-1 large-offset-2 text size-1x-large line-height-large _10M0Ygc4\" data-reactid=\"283\">But a federal official said state and local governments also needed to do their part instead of relying entirely on Washington.<\/p>\n<p class=\"column small-12 medium-10 medium-offset-1 large-offset-2 text size-1x-large line-height-large _10M0Ygc4\" data-reactid=\"285\">&#8220;They can&#8217;t depend only on federal emergency management,&#8221; Brock Long, head of the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency, told\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/fortune.com\/fortune500\/cbs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-reactid=\"287\">CBS<\/a>\u00a0News.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"column small-12 medium-10 medium-offset-1 large-offset-2 text size-2x-large bold OmZJ8NL1\" data-reactid=\"290\">95% Dry<\/h2>\n<p class=\"column small-12 medium-10 medium-offset-1 large-offset-2 text size-1x-large line-height-large _10M0Ygc4\" data-reactid=\"292\">Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said on Sunday the city was making progress on several fronts, expecting most public services and businesses to be restored by Tuesday, the first business day after Monday&#8217;s Labor Day holiday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"column small-12 medium-10 medium-offset-1 large-offset-2 text size-1x-large line-height-large _10M0Ygc4\" data-reactid=\"294\">&#8220;Over 95% of the city is now dry. And I&#8217;m encouraging people to get up and let&#8217;s get going,&#8221; Turner told NBC News.<\/p>\n<p class=\"column small-12 medium-10 medium-offset-1 large-offset-2 text size-1x-large line-height-large _10M0Ygc4\" data-reactid=\"296\">&#8220;This is a can-do city. We&#8217;re not going to engage in a pity party,&#8221; he said on CBS.<\/p>\n<p class=\"column small-12 medium-10 medium-offset-1 large-offset-2 text size-1x-large line-height-large _10M0Ygc4\" data-reactid=\"298\">Even so, the city mandated the evacuation of thousands of people on the western side of town on Sunday to accommodate the release of water from a pair of reservoirs that otherwise might sustain damage. The storm stalled over Houston, dumping more than 50 inches (1.3 m) on the region in a matter of days.<\/p>\n<p class=\"column small-12 medium-10 medium-offset-1 large-offset-2 text size-1x-large line-height-large _10M0Ygc4\" data-reactid=\"300\">The city cut off power to homes on Sunday morning to encourage evacuations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"column small-12 medium-10 medium-offset-1 large-offset-2 text size-1x-large line-height-large _10M0Ygc4\" data-reactid=\"302\">About 37,000 refugees stayed overnight in 270 shelters in Texas plus another 2,000 in seven Louisiana shelters, the highest number reported so far by the American Red Cross.<\/p>\n<p class=\"column small-12 medium-10 medium-offset-1 large-offset-2 text size-1x-large line-height-large _10M0Ygc4\" data-reactid=\"304\">Some 84,700 homes and businesses were without power on Sunday, down from a peak of around 300,000, according to the region&#8217;s major electric companies.<\/p>\n<p class=\"column small-12 medium-10 medium-offset-1 large-offset-2 text size-1x-large line-height-large _10M0Ygc4\" data-reactid=\"306\">Energy disruptions pushed up gasoline futures to a two-year high ahead of the holiday weekend, but major refineries started to come back online on Friday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"column small-12 medium-10 medium-offset-1 large-offset-2 text size-1x-large line-height-large _10M0Ygc4\" data-reactid=\"308\"><a href=\"http:\/\/fortune.com\/2017\/08\/28\/hurricane-harvey-oil-refining\/?iid=sr-link1\" rel=\"\" data-reactid=\"309\">Colonial Pipeline<\/a>, the biggest U.S. fuel system, expects to reopen a Texas segment of its network on Monday, when it will resume transporting distillates from Houston to Hebert, Texas, the company said on Sunday, adding that it would be ready to start moving gasoline on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"column small-12 medium-10 medium-offset-1 large-offset-2 end text size-1x-large line-height-large _10M0Ygc4\" data-reactid=\"312\">Those repairs would restore to normal Colonial&#8217;s entire 5,500-mile (8,850-km) pipeline running from Houston to Linden, New Jersey, relieving shortages between Texas and the U.S. Northeast.<\/p>\n<p>___<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/fortune.com\/2017\/09\/03\/hurricane-harvey-damages-cost\/\">http:\/\/fortune.com\/2017\/09\/03\/hurricane-harvey-damages-cost\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-83046","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83046","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=83046"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83046\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=83046"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=83046"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=83046"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}