Will this be more expensive than Andrew..?

[Josephine96]

Just thinking.. with what this thing did to South Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and anything else it may do as it weakens pulling northward..

Will this be the US most expensive hurricane..?

Your thoughts are welcomed..

[gtalum]

I'm guessing yes. it will be more expensive than Andrew, even in inflation-adjusted dollars. Between the minor damage in Miami, the flooding in New Orleans and Mobile, and the damage across the Mississippi coast, not to mention the inland damage, it will top $40 Billion. Just my $0.02.

[djtil]

andrew hit twice also, stronger both times.


no.....especially not if inflation is factored....but i dont think in absolute dollars either.

[Mello1]

I'm more concerned about casualities right now.

[steveklein]

Just thinking.. with what this thing did to South Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and anything else it may do as it weakens pulling northward..

Will this be the US most expensive hurricane..?

Your thoughts are welcomed..

it very well could be because it seems like lots of metro areas (New Orleans, Biloxi/Gulfport/Pascagoula, Mobile, and Pensacola) all took at least some kind of hit. it may be close. i think early estimates are around 25 billion which is less than andrews 26 billion.

now if you factor in inflation, andrew's figure rises to about 35-40 billion... but katrina may top that

[no advance]

The storm surge is incredible. Yes it is the new 1.

[gtalum]

Andrew's $26 Billion is about $40 Billion in today's dollars, not $50 Billion. I'm willing to bet that the total damages here are higher than that. This directly affected many major cities, whereas Andrew only directly affected one major city.

[DESTRUCTION5]

No doubt...Double IMO...Not to mention the deaths

[blueeyes_austin]

Yes, and in inflation adjusted dollars.

[Tri-State_1925]

Inflation adjusted Andrew isn't more than 35 billion...

[Josephine96]

My opinion also is yes..

Major cities affected: Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, New Orleans, Pascagoula, Biloxi, just to name a few.. and let's not forget Mobile either..

Major Cities= Major costs= Major damage= New #1

[The Big Dog]

I think it has a chance to top $25B. $40B I think might be a little extreme, but I wouldn't rule it out.

However, keep in mind another thing about Katrina: this storm can do a lot more damage inland. Once Andrew got past Homestead, there was nothing but swamp.

[steveklein]

I think it has a chance to top $25B. $40B I think might be a little extreme, but I wouldn't rule it out.

However, keep in mind another thing about Katrina: this storm can do a lot more damage inland. Once Andrew got past Homestead, there was nothing but swamp.

yeah but don't forget that andrew was actually a cat 5 when it slammed into homestead. it delivered cat 2-3 type damage in miami proper and cat 1-2 damage in fort lauderdale.

katrina was a weakening 4 when it slammed into swamp. it was really a strong 3 before it really took aim on any signficiant population center.

[wxwatcher91]

Andrew cost 34.3 billion in year-2000 dollars

[Jupiter]

43.6 billion in 2004 dollars

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pastcost2.shtml?

[gtalum]

Inflation adjusted Andrew isn't more than 35 billion...

If you assume 3% average inflation for 13 years, it's almost exactly $40 Billion.

[djtil]

andrew had 15 billion in insured losses.

katrinas early estimates by the insurance industry is 12 billion to 25 billion.


so it looks to be close in absolute dollars, but in inflation adjust dollars it appears Andrew will hold the edge.

[gtalum]

43.6 billion in 2004 dollars

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pastcost2.shtml?

We have a winner.

[Josephine96]

Thats' a lot of $

[gtalum]

andrew had 15 billion in insured losses.

katrinas early estimates by the insurance industry is 12 billion to 25 billion.

Insured losses may not be a good comparison here. There are a lot of extremely poor people in New Olreans. Somethin glike 28% of its residents live below the poverty line. I bet the percentage of uninsured is much higher there, so they won't be represented in insured loss numbers.