Abstract
Abstract. Hurricanes cause extensive harm to local economies, and in some cases the recovery may take years. As an adequate, skilled, and trained workforce is a prerequisite for economic development and capacity building, employment plays an important role in disaster reduction and mitigation efforts. The statistical relationship between hurricane landfalls and observed changes in employment at the county level is investigated. Hurricane impact is classified into temporary and permanent categories. In the former category, the level of economic activities is lowered following a hurricane landfall but quickly recovers to the pre-storm norm. In contrast, the permanent shift alters the mean value of the data and results in lasting losses in future years. The results show that Hurricane Katrina produced significant permanent impact on Orleans County, Louisiana. Chambers and Fort Bend counties experienced a significant temporary impact due to the landfall of Hurricane Ike. The results are further discussed through a qualitative analysis of various social, economic, and engineering factors in these affected communities. The findings support the notion that a higher resilience level leads to quicker recovery after a disaster. However, the underlying data-generating processes are characterized and tested in a more detailed manner.
Highlights
Natural hazards are an ongoing part of human history, which are caused by nature rather than by man, and coping with them is a critical element of how resource use and human settlement have evolved (Adger, 2005)
Based on statistics from the Congressional Budget Office, the annualized economic losses due to hurricanes in the United States are estimated at USD 28 billion
Hurricane Ike ripped through the Houston area, and the eye of the storm passed over Harris County, TX
Summary
Natural hazards are an ongoing part of human history, which are caused by nature rather than by man (for example, an earthquake, flood, or hurricane), and coping with them is a critical element of how resource use and human settlement have evolved (Adger, 2005). 1.2 billion people, or 23 % of the world’s population, live within 100 km from the coasts (Nichols and Beavers, 2003), and the percentage is likely to increase to 50 % by 2030 Many of these coastal areas have high exposure to hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes, and other disasters. During the subsequent recovery phase, affected communities engage in debris cleanup and redevelopment designed to quickly restore local employment and other economic activities to pre-storm levels (Burton, 2015). Examining the changes in employment following the landfall of a hurricane would represent the health of the business environment and indicate the state of broad economic recovery. The research presented in this paper is focused on analyzing temporary (i.e., transitory) and permanent impacts of hurricanes on affected communities.
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