Jonathan Smoke, opinion contributor
Hurricane Harvey: The worst disaster for automobiles ever
Thursday September 7, 2017
Article Highlights
- Once damages are finally tallied, Hurricane Harvey will likely prove to be among the worst, most-costly natural disasters to hit our United States.
- he vehicle ownership rate in the Houston area is 94.4 percent, which is higher than the U.S. rate of 91 percent.
- We are estimating 300,000 to 500,000 vehicles were severely damaged or destroyed, which translates to between $2.7 billion and $4.9 billion in lost vehicle value, based on vehicle age in the market.
Once damages are finally tallied, Hurricane Harvey will likely prove to be among the worst, most-costly natural disasters to hit our United States. In addition to the heartbreaking loss of life, damages have been estimated by Moody’s Analytics to be in the range of $77 to $97 billion. That’s bigger than Sandy and getting close to Katrina — clearly a major tragedy.
Because of the nature of the damage — mainly flooding — and the landscape of Houston — mostly flat — the damage to the vehicles is particularly noteworthy. My team at Cox Automotive has taken a careful look at the situation in and around Houston and found the damage to be shocking. In fact, in a measure of damaged or destroyed automobiles, Hurricane Harvey could well be the worst ever in the United States.