Hurricane Beryl could cost US $32 billion as small islands brace for economic hit

Hurricane Beryl could have caused up to $32 billion in damage and losses in the United States, according to preliminary data from an independent organization.

Beryl, which made landfall in Texas on Monday as a Category 1 hurricane after churning through the Caribbean and Mexico, caused widespread flooding, power outages and infrastructure damage.

At least seven people have died in the Houston area as a result of Hurricane Beryl, according to city and county officials. Previously, 10 people had died in the Caribbean.

A preliminary estimate by AccuWeather, a private weather forecasting company, shows that this damage could be between $28 billion and $32 billion in the US alone.

This estimate includes direct and indirect costs and damage to homes, businesses, infrastructure, equipment, roads and vehicles, as well as power outages that result in spoiled food, lost jobs and wages, delayed flights and interrupted medical care, etc.

“Beryl will go down in the history books as a record hurricane,” AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jon Porter said.

“It was the first recorded Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic basin to cause catastrophic damage in the Windward Islands. Beryl brought impacts to Jamaica and the Cayman Islands before slamming into Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula with damaging winds and storm surge.

AccuWeather’s loss estimate takes into account both insured and uninsured losses and is based on a variety of sources, statistics and unique techniques, the company said in a statement. It also includes an estimate of the potential damage it can cause as it moves around the US.

Beryl, now a tropical storm, is expected to continue to cause flooding, localized tornadoes and gusty winds as it moves across the Midwest, Great Lakes and into central and northern New England.

In Texas, heat and humidity also significantly affected recovery efforts. More than two million homes and businesses in Southeast Texas have been without power for more than 24 hours since Beryl made landfall. Prolonged power outages are likely to last several days in the most affected communities.

To put Beryl’s damage into context, last year’s Hurricane Idalia, which made landfall in Big Bend, Florida, caused $18-20 billion in total damage and economic losses. Hurricane Ian caused $180-210 billion in 2022. Hurricane Harvey, which hit a similar area in Texas, caused total damage and economic losses of $230 billion in 2017.

Meanwhile, leaders in the Caribbean also worried about the economic impact of Beryl after it left a trail of destruction in Jamaica and the islands of the eastern Caribbean.

Officials were still counting the financial toll of the storm, which hit them as it reached maximum Category 5 strength.

“There is no doubt that this disaster will have a major impact on Grenada’s economic situation,” Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell said at a briefing on Tuesday.

“We’re talking about hundreds of millions of dollars in losses and hundreds of millions of dollars in recovery.”

Grenada’s islands of Carriacou and Petite Martinique are facing “almost complete devastation,” he added, adding that people who have lost their homes are particularly vulnerable to the elements.

Mr Mitchell said there was a need to rebuild storm-proof structures, adding that many of the country’s existing wooden houses were not insured.

A team of insurers is due to arrive on Wednesday and the government plans to announce fiscal measures early next week.

Saint Lucia has released initial estimates of almost $2 million in damage including buildings, seaweed harvesting and banana plantations.

Rainfall and debris hampered estimates in Jamaica, whose agricultural sector initially reported more than $6 million in damage.

CARICOM President Mohammed Ali said many long-term crops had been lost and farmers would face problems for years to come in a “heartbreaking” initial assessment for agriculture, according to the Reuters news agency.

Small islands face the greatest risk as hurricanes continue to strengthen and become more frequent as a result of the man-made climate crisis, despite producing very little carbon pollution compared to large economies.

Warmer ocean waters, which are caused by harmful greenhouse gases produced by burning oil, coal and gas, fuel hurricanes.

This year, Atlantic ocean warmth in July was already on par with normal September, the peak hurricane season, leading to Beryl becoming the first ever Category 5 hurricane.

“Record-high heat content in the oceans, driven primarily by climate change, clearly played a role in the rapid intensification of Beryl across the tropical Atlantic, eastern Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico before it encountered wind shear, drier air and increased friction from land masses,” said an expert on AccuWeather Climate and Chief Meteorologist Brett Anderson.

In fact, Beryl intensified twice, the second time when it got near Mexico and the US due to the warm water in the bath near the coast.

“As Beryl came within 100 miles of the southeast Texas coast, it passed over a pocket of very warm sea surface water that was at least 86 degrees,” Anderson said.

“This increase in temperature provided just enough additional energy to help strengthen Beryl into a Category 1 hurricane before it made landfall.”

“Thankfully, Beryl was still moving at a steady pace. If Beryl were to slow, it would allow her to spend more time over very warm waters and potentially strengthen into a Category 2 or even Category 3 hurricane.

Caribbean countries are demanding more rapid decarbonisation measures from rich polluting countries such as the United States, European countries and China. International negotiations are also underway on financial support mechanisms for smaller countries in dealing with disasters.

At the upcoming United Nations climate summit in Baku, Cop29, in November, a loss and damage fund that can support island nations is again on the agenda.

But climate finance measures have so far remained woefully inadequate to cover the costs of growing disasters and have funneled billions of dollars back into rich countries, leaving poorer countries in debt.

The past 13 months have been the warmest on record for the planet, with intense heat waves, heavier rainfall on land and boiling waters fueling storms.

Meteorologists are predicting an explosive hurricane season this year due to record ocean heat.

AccuWeather says 20-25 named storms have been seen this year, and 4-6 could potentially have a direct impact on the US.

“You don’t want to wait too long to stock up on hurricanes, and most importantly, don’t slack off this hurricane season,” Mr. Porter said, adding that they were predicting “a very busy and powerful hurricane.” season and we’re just getting started.”