There is a saying that suggests if you don’t like the weather, just wait a while and it will change. The last few days have certainly validated that truism as ice storms have wrecked havoc across Texas and several other states—leaving thousands without electricity and causing the deaths of over 50 people in nine states.
Normal activities have been severely disrupted by the onslaught of ice and snow, flooding, and high winds. Businesses have closed and services have been curtailed in numerous parts of the country. While many people have had to endure short interludes without power, more than 300,000 from Texas to Maine have had to huddle in makeshift shelters and darkened homes waiting for lengthy periods for repairs, which in numerous cases have taken much longer than usual. In Oklahoma, more than 92,000 homes and businesses were shuttered for some four days. In some states, members of the National Guard were called in to help with recovery efforts and dissemination of information.
In the Lone Star State, vehicular traffic has been severely disrupted and miles of interstate highways and other motorways have experienced temporary closings. Delays and cancellations in air traffic have also occurred, at times for the lack of de-icing materials. In addition, hundreds of schools have been closed, as have some local and state government offices. Even the inauguration of Governor Perry had to be moved indoors, the first time in some five decades that outside activities, including the parade, had to be cancelled.
Citrus crops and fresh-cut flowers supplies have been devastated in California, and shoppers will soon feel the pinch of higher prices as they make plans to purchase Valentine’s Day bouquets and create Super Bowl spreads. Damages to the fruits could surpass the $700 million loss the state experienced in the December 1998 freeze. Inflated prices of other crops that have fallen victim to the wintry weather may soon follow.
In many areas of Texas, the ice storm has damaged trees and property, causing significant monetary losses. Fortunately, the development and planting of trees less susceptible to this kind of weather over the years has tended to reduce the severity of the problems, thereby lessening cleanup costs to individuals and communities.
While the recent weather problems have certainly not caused as much damage as some previous natural disasters, they nevertheless have been disruptive to our routine activities. Over the past quarter century, there have been 67 billion-dollar weather disasters in the United States, only three percent of which have been related to ice storms. During that period, Texas has experienced several natural weather disasters, with perhaps the flooding in 1994 ($1.2 billion damage and 19 deaths) and 1998 ($1.1 billion damage and 31 deaths) the most costly in recent years.
From an economic standpoint, the key thing to note about the difficulties we have been facing is that they slow down the efficiency we are used to in our daily business activities. We are accustomed to a well-oiled economy in which deliveries and supply systems function with monotonous regularity. When this massive logistical process is interrupted, store shelves empty and assembly lines stall. Once the skies are clear, however, things will return to normal very quickly.
Perhaps the best way to look at the situation was penned by Percy Bysshe Shelley when he wrote, “O, Wind, if Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?” The economic disruptions we are facing today will certainly be overcome tomorrow—such are the miracles of the modern global economy.