The state of Louisiana, and particularly New Orleans, has been the focus of post-hurricane economic analysis. However, a preliminary assessment of damage to Mississippi and Alabama indicates the economic impact to those two states "could be enormous," says Global Insight, a Waltham, Mass.-based economic forecasting firm.
In Mississippi, along the coast, it's believed "almost 90% of the structures are completely ruined, including homes, businesses and industries."
In Alabama, the hurricane "devastated the Alabama state docks in Mobile, smashing barges, flooding warehouses and inundating piers at the 12th largest port in the country. . . . The damage also puts a temporary crimp in the $9-billion-a-year export business that sends Alabama's coal, medical instruments, chemicals and timber around the globe."