After a devastating weekend in Houston, the after effects of hurricane Harvey seem like they will continue to linger into this coming week. It is predicted that Harvey will force at least 30,000 people from their homes and into shelters and lead 450,000 people to seek some sort of disaster relief. It was a tough weekend for Houston, with unprecedented levels of rain fall that left many parts of the city flooded. On average Houston gets 50 inches of rain fall a year, but in the past 2 days Houston got a staggering 25 inches of rain. And with more rain to come, many people are either under curfew or mandatory evacuation orders.

The local economy of Houston and the surrounding areas are also being affected. Many homes and businesses in the area have flooded and will need assistance, like building restoration, to get back up and running after hurricane Harvey. This will most likely take months before the city is back and running at levels experienced before hurricane Harvey. The local government will have to do a wide spread inspection of core infrastructure in the area so that the city can recover and be prepared for any event like this in the future.

I own a graphics design company in Houston, and know firsthand that Harvey has affected all my employees in some form or other, and this holds true for everyone in the surrounding area in Houston. But it is not just Texas that has been affected by Harvey. Across the US, people will start to feel the effects of Harvey. Houston is a major hub for oil refinery in the gulf coast. At least 10 refineries have already been shut down. This means that there will be less gas to meet the demand of Americans, pushing gas prices up. With 22% of oil produced in the gulf being shut down, we will most likely see a spike of 20 to 80 cents in gas prices in the coming weeks. With continuing effects of hurricane Harvey to come, we send our love and prayers to Houstonians and everyone in the surrounding area. We hope that everyone stays safe during this time, and please donate food, clothes, or money to those affected by Harvey, every little bit helps.