Federal Aid Request for Harvey Damage Expected to Top Katrina
Hurricane Harvey left a rising number of deaths and costly destruction in Texas, where Gov. Greg Abbott forecast federal funding needs are “far in excess” of $125 billion, topping Hurricane Katrina.
Gov. Abbott said he expects the congressional appropriation needed for restoration will be larger than the roughly $120 billion provided to New Orleans after Katrina.
“The worst is not yet over for Southeast Texas as far as the rain is concerned,” he said, referring to a region that includes the cities of Beaumont and Port Arthur, where more than 2 feet of rain fell in just 24 hours as Harvey neared land again.
Harvey-related payouts by private-sector insurers are expected to exceed $10 billion and possibly hit $20 billion, according to Wall Street analysts. The wide range reflects the many unprecedented aspects of the still-unfolding disaster. At the top end of that range, it would near the cost of superstorm Sandy in 2012, according to the trade group Insurance Information Institute, but trail Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which cost the insurance industry $49.79 billion in 2016 dollars.
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