A storm on the level of Hurricane Katrina could potentially devastate Louisiana’s eroding coastline to the tune of more than $133 billion in damage, a two-year study conducted by the LSU Economics and Policy Research Group and the RAND Corporation concludes.
The study, presented Thursday to the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority,, quantified the impact of coastal erosion and demonstrated a “need and justification for Coastal Master Plan project expenditures that can save billions during future storm events,” LSU says in a news release.
“Every dollar we spend today on coastal restoration and protection will save us many, many more dollars in the future,” CPRA Board Chairman Chip Kline says in a prepared statement. “But beyond being cost-feasible, we’re talking about saving lives, families, homes, business and our way of life.”
Researchers layered projected land loss and storm surge scenarios from the 2012 Coastal Master Plan onto today’s economy using spatial analysis.
The study’s main finding is that storm damages to fixed assets ranges from $10 billion in a hypothetical western-track storm to $133 billion for a hypothetical eastern-track storm that hits sometime within the next 50 years during extreme land loss conditions. Without any further action to halt coastal erosion, a Category 5 storm making landfall could have an economic impact of between $5 billion and $51 billion nationwide.
The study also found costs to replace residential, commercial and network infrastructure lost as a result of land loss ranges from $2.1 billion to $3.5 billion over 50 years.
