The Southeast is reeling and by Tuesday most if not all East Coast and Gulf Coast shipping could be stuck.
The economic disasters began Thursday night at 11:10 p.m. when Hurricane Helene made landfall 45 miles east-southeast of Tallahassee, Florida. Initial projections of how much damage the winds, starting at 140 miles an hour, would not contemplate the degree of disaster that swept 800 miles north up the coast.
And all of that is separate from the International Longshoremen’s Association’s plan for strikes at 36 East Coast seaports run by 14 port authorities from Maine to Texas that handle half the cargo volume into and out of the U.S. that travels by ship.
Put both together and there is the very real potential of a force that could send the economy spinning sideways. Not today, but by the holiday season and into next year.
Hurricane Impact
Start with the hell of Helene. It’s difficult to keep pace with the reports of death and destruction. According to AccuWeather as of September 30, 120 people are reported to have been killed during the “once-in-a-generation” storm. The “catastrophic flooding, ferocious winds, and perilous conditions” extend hundreds of miles inland. An estimated 2 million people and businesses remain without power. When the storm was raging most, the number was 4 million, the largest number since Hurricane Irma left 7.6 million customers without power in 2017.
Initially, experts from major reinsurance companies that backstop the insurance industry had predicted the potential of $3 billion to $6 billion in damages before the hurricane landed.
