New York (CNN Business) Hurricane Laura is one of the most powerful storms ever to hit the US Gulf Coast, but its path avoided major cities such as Houston and New Orleans, causing less damage — to people and their towns — than initially feared. An early estimate from CoreLogic is that insured losses from the storm, which has killed six people, will be between $8 billion and $12 billion. Almost all those costs will come in Louisiana, with insured losses in Texas coming to less than $500 million, according to the estimate. But the damage is far less severe than some recent storms that hit more populated areas. Hurricane Katrina, the 2005 storm that is the most costly in US history , caused $57 billion in insured losses, including flood insurance claims, according to the Insurance Information Institute, and $140 billion in total economic damage, according to Moody's.

Source: CNN August 28, 2020 15:22 UTC