Assessment of Economic Damage from LA Fires Completed
According to analysts, the wildfires ravaging Southern California have inflicted financial losses estimated at up to $275 billion. Read Full Article at RT.com.
TroibNews 
Devastating wildfires currently affecting Southern California are projected to result in damages ranging from $250 billion to $275 billion, according to a preliminary assessment by weather data platform AccuWeather.
This estimate includes direct costs such as rebuilding, relocation, cleanup, and emergency shelter expenses, and it also considers indirect costs like healthcare expenses for injuries or smoke exposure, lost wages, employee housing displacement, and impacts on the local labor market, business environment, and tourism sector.
“These fast-moving, wind-driven infernos have created one of the costliest wildfire disasters in modern US history,” AccuWeather chief meteorologist Jonathan Porter remarked on Monday. He noted that the staggering economic toll of up to $275 billion highlights the severity of the situation.
Porter also stated that the total damage in some areas remains undetermined, pointing out that some residents in Los Angeles are still at risk.
“Should a large number of additional structures be burned in the coming days, it may become the worst wildfire in modern California history based on the number of structures burned and economic loss,” he warned.
The meteorologist highlighted that the most severe fires are occurring between Santa Monica and Malibu, affecting some of the nation’s priciest real estate, where median home values exceed $2 million.
Since last week, the wildfires sweeping through the Los Angeles area have resulted in at least 25 fatalities and have scorched over 40,000 acres. More than 12,000 structures have been destroyed, leaving entire neighborhoods in devastation.
The preliminary estimate from AccuWeather far surpasses the financial damages from Hurricane Katrina, the most costly natural disaster since 1980, which devastated New Orleans in 2005. Katrina resulted in 1,833 deaths and damages equivalent to $197.5 billion when adjusted for inflation.
Sanya Singh contributed to this report for TROIB News
This estimate includes direct costs such as rebuilding, relocation, cleanup, and emergency shelter expenses, and it also considers indirect costs like healthcare expenses for injuries or smoke exposure, lost wages, employee housing displacement, and impacts on the local labor market, business environment, and tourism sector.
“These fast-moving, wind-driven infernos have created one of the costliest wildfire disasters in modern US history,” AccuWeather chief meteorologist Jonathan Porter remarked on Monday. He noted that the staggering economic toll of up to $275 billion highlights the severity of the situation.
Porter also stated that the total damage in some areas remains undetermined, pointing out that some residents in Los Angeles are still at risk.
“Should a large number of additional structures be burned in the coming days, it may become the worst wildfire in modern California history based on the number of structures burned and economic loss,” he warned.
The meteorologist highlighted that the most severe fires are occurring between Santa Monica and Malibu, affecting some of the nation’s priciest real estate, where median home values exceed $2 million.
Since last week, the wildfires sweeping through the Los Angeles area have resulted in at least 25 fatalities and have scorched over 40,000 acres. More than 12,000 structures have been destroyed, leaving entire neighborhoods in devastation.
The preliminary estimate from AccuWeather far surpasses the financial damages from Hurricane Katrina, the most costly natural disaster since 1980, which devastated New Orleans in 2005. Katrina resulted in 1,833 deaths and damages equivalent to $197.5 billion when adjusted for inflation.
Sanya Singh contributed to this report for TROIB News
