September 9, 2005

Hurricane Katrina ravages the U.S. Gulf Coast

- Federal disaster declarations encompass approximately 90,000 square miles—nearly 55 percent of the size of California.

- Estimates of the regional damage reached $50 billion, by far the highest ever associated with a U.S. natural disaster.

- The Congressional Budget Office reports that 400,000 jobs could be lost, wiping out any recent job gains.

- Storm damage is also threatening the overall economic recovery. The CBO projects it will cut growth by as much as a full percentage point this year.

- A 40 percent surge in gasoline prices has impacted the entire country this month.

- Although death tolls are estimated in the thousands, it’s too early to tell if Katrina is the deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history. A hurricane plowing through Galveston, Texas, in 1900 killed between 6,000 and 12,000 people.