Winter storm damage may rival Hurricane Harvey's price tag, experts say
As thawing temperatures begin to release Texas from the record-breaking deep freeze that has gripped the state over the past week, the devastating financial toll from broken water pipes, downed trees, wrecked automobiles and related weather-induced destruction is becoming clear.
Insurance industry executives say they anticipate the price tag for recovery could approach that of Hurricane Harvey in 2017 — which resulted in $19 billion in insured losses in Texas, primarily along the Gulf Coast, and is considered the costliest storm in the state's history.
One big difference between then and now is that the current weather emergency has hit all 254 Texas counties, a trend manifested in the large number of claims statewide that already are pouring in to insurance companies.
"It's clearly going to be a very costly event given the historic scope, intensity and duration of the cold wave," said Adam Smith, an applied climatologist with a branch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "This impact is compounded due to the large cities and populations that were affected."
Read more: https://www.statesman.com/story/business/2021/02/19/texas-power-outages-winter-storm-may-cost-more-than-hurricane-harvey/4507186001/
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