Hurricane Harvey's hit to the U.S. economy could match the total price tag of its destruction.
Economist Ray Perryman says even when taking into account new construction, the nation's gross domestic product could still see losses of $145 billion or more.
That doesn't include another $96 billion in person income losses.
“You have a lot of absentism from work, you have a lot of business that are shut down and not producing,” says Perryman, adding that any gas that wasn't sold during the storm is still considered a loss for those days, as are any agricultural products.
However, contractors will see a boost once the insurance claims are settled.
“A lot of people will rethink where they build and how they build, you may have stuff built that is more expensive than before to withstand this type of thing better,” says Perryman.
While Perryman praises state and local leaders for kickstarting the recovery, some sectors will be slow to comeback.
“Before you start seeing businesses replaced, the industries repaired and that sort of thing, you're probably looking at a period of at least a year for the bulk of it, and some of this will go on for probably a decade or more before everything is restored.