When it comes to the long-term effects of Hurricane Ida on the U.S. economy, one analyst told CBS News to expect only a modest impact.
Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, said Ida could cause a “downgrade” in his July-September quarter for the annual U.S. economic growth by “a few tenths of a percentage point.” The damage done to residents of the area is in stark contrast to the limited financial repurcossions.
Hurricane Ida hit the area's infrastructure hard. More than one million people in Louisiana and Mississippi were left without power Monday following one of the most powerful hurricanes ever to hit the U.S. mainland. Even so, Zandi said the small dip in economic growth could be reversed following rebuilding after hurricane damage.
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said on Sunday that 30,000 utility workers were in the state to help restore electricity.
In addition to power, many locals lost access to phone service.
AT&T's phone system was down across the southeast of the state, even the governor's office lacked working phones. Many people had to rely on walkie-talkies. The destruction to the state's grid is unlikely to have the disastrous effect on the county's economy that many would expect, according to Zandi.
In fact, Zandi predicted the nation’s total output of goods and services, or gross domestic product, could increase at a 6.5 percent annual rate.
"The key channel for Ida to impact the broader economy is through energy prices," Zandi told CBS News. "We will have to see how much damage occurred to production in the Gulf and how long that production will stay offline."