Houston: Miami or New Orleans?

Nature has a way of being too powerful for words to adequately describe, especially in a day when the word awesome is used as commonly as saying Hello. And so it is with the rain in Houston that simply refuses to quit. It is beyond rain on steroids. And it continues. Now the question going forward will be if Houston’s Harvey will be like Miami’s Andrew or New Orleans’s Katrina.

With the former, the relief effort and all the money that poured in brought the area back; bigger, better and more vibrant than ever. It was even the one time in the past few decades when horse racing in south Florida saw a huge boost in business. The insurance money fueled the trades and reinforced the confidence of property owners. And some of this newfound wealth found its ways to the mutuel windows. But New Orleans was a different story as it continued to take a pounding years after Katrina and shrunk in population, sometimes forcing out the natives who were the poorest.

In fairness, Katrina was expansive in its destruction, whereas Andrew crushed what it hit but its scope was limited geographically. Still, it’s instructive to see how the two cities had such different epilogues. And the good news for Houston is that it seems much more similar to Miami than it does New Orleans.

Houston is, well, huge and diverse, now the fourth largest city in the country and with a vibrant economy. Plus, as cliche’ as it may seem, Texas is Texas, somewhat larger than life. It is difficult to imagine that these folks won’t be up to the challenge. My money is on Houston not just surviving, but finding a way to have Harvey act as a catalyst for an economic renaissance. Plus, the Astros have a World Series to play!

 

 

Leave a Reply