Twelve years after Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast, New Orleans has never fully recovered. Hundreds of thousands fled and never came back. Its population today is 80 percent of what it was before the storm. New Orleans is not alone. After Hurricane Ike, Galveston, Texas lost 20 percent of its population. Hurricane Andrew forced out about 30,000 people or 35 percent of the population of Homestead, Florida.
Yet many believe Houston and surrounding environs may be spared a similar fate. "It will recover. It will absorb this shock. And how long it's going to take depends on how big the shock is, but it will recover," says Mercatus Center economist Veronique de Rugy.
Her optimism is based on Houston's unique strength as an engine of the American economy and New Orleans' particular weakness.
