The US claimed that Hurricane Florence's impact on the economy will hardly be felt. If ever, the storm would have modest consequences, despite the destruction it left.
The storm, which had killed at least 20 people and had displaced more than a million people, was expected to disrupt the economic growth, but not by much. Moody's Analytics, through Business Report, projected that the loss of the US' economic growth would be at least "two-tenths of a percentage point" as people find no reason to go to establishments.
Manufacturing and restaurants would also impact this growth; affected restaurants would have to recover for weeks, while manufacturers would also need some time before they could resume production. While the economy was seen to grow 3.9 percent before the storm hit, post-Florence figures could still have it at a modest 3.7 percent, which is still not bad.
It is all very promising, despite stories of the devastation of the people who experienced the storm first-hand.
Janus and Peter Hanson, who lived in North Carolina, operated a store that has been devastated by the storm. As they checked the store, debris met them; their livelihood reduced to mere rubble and an instant swamp. The store was only one of many which were flooded as Florence broke windows and drove floodwater to submerge cities.
12 News also tells the story of Don and Neil Thompson, two more store owners who've experienced the wrath of the storm after it had passed through the city. Citing Florence, they tell of storms which were also pretty bad, by their experience. However, they agree that Florence was something else and that the damage had been, by far, the worst their store had received.
The amount of the economic fallout could become worse as people begin to discover the storm's effect on their livelihood. Oxford Economics says that losses like these-to infrastructure, as well as to people could cost the government around $30billion to $40 billion.
The economy could bounce back eventually as people begin to pick up the pieces. Deferred purchases would finally be completed and damages would be repaired. However, how dire things remain to be seen, especially with the tit-for-tat tariff spat with the Chinese still yet to be resolved.
