The strongest storm of its nature ever to hit the Western Hemisphere is also bringing flooding back to the state.
Even though the storm didn’t cause the type of catastrophe that may have been expected from Hurricane Patricia, the worst storm of that nature that has ever been seen by the Western Hemisphere, this doesn’t mean that it won’t be leaving devastation in its trail now that it has been downgraded to a tropical depression.
The largest cities in Mexico may have been spared but Texas could see billions of dollars in flooding.
The flooding from Hurricane Patricia’s path through Texas has been estimated to reach as much as $3 billion, though it remains too early to be able to determine the actual extent of the storm’s damages. This, according to Kinetic Analysis Corp. director of research and development, Chuck Watson. He went on to say that at the same time that Texas is facing those enormous costs from the tropical depression, the storms initial landfall in Mexico is likely to have generated less than $2 billion throughout that entire country.
The majority of the cost from Hurricane Patricia’s path through Texas will have been from infrastructure damage.
This will primarily include the damage to roads and bridges. According to the U.S. government, many of the expenses from the Texas floods will be covered through the National Flood Insurance Program.
Still, according to the American International Group’s president of property in the Americas, Eric Nikodem, commercial businesses such as shopping malls, industrial companies, and homeowners, alike, will likely suffer damages in addition to the infrastructure damage that is predicted.
Watson stated that “Mexico just had an incredible piece of luck,” adding that “It was remarkable” that the eye of Hurricane Patricia aimed for the region right between Manzanillo’s major port and the Puerto Vallarta resort town, leaving both of those locations essentially undamaged. A difference of only 20 to 30 miles in either direction could have been catastrophic for either of those places. Most of the damage that has been seen so far has been to homes and fishing villages, but not to major locations or infrastructure.
