Natural disasters are never a good thing. In the areas where they happen, they affect everything in a negative way. They can destroy entire countries, cities, the economy, infrastructure and in some cases the human population. They destroy everything they touch. Probably the most striking thing, besides the population, is the local economy. Everything else can be fixed, even with federal funds, such as infrastructure or public buildings. The economy, however, is more difficult to fix. The government cannot simply restore the local economy to how it was before. It needs to be done by the people in the area, but it's really hard to do that when pretty much everything you've ever known is being destroyed. They have to worry about their loved ones and provide basic necessities before they worry about finding a job or reopening, perhaps even opening, their business. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay This is why economic recovery after natural disasters takes time and sometimes does not recover depending on the severity of the disaster. This is demonstrated in the article in this quote: “Disasters also appear to have long-term negative consequences for economic growth, development and poverty reduction.” Some people simply move if there is nothing left for them after a disaster. This only makes it harder for the economy to recover, but who could blame them. They have nothing left and probably lost their jobs after the disaster. Government policies try to help recover the economy after a disaster to some extent, but this does not completely solve the problem. It just helps. One such program is FEMA. They provide shelter, food and everything people might need to survive when they lose everything. There is also a government flood insurance program to help ease the financial burden of having to build a new home if it is destroyed by a flood. They help stimulate economic growth by trying to solve the problems they can for people, so that people can get back to work or run a business so that the economy can start to grow again. Recently, when Hurricane Harvey hit, it decimated the economy of Southeast Texas. It flooded much of the area. Nationally, it hasn't affected our economy too much yet, but I'm sure it will make a dent considering how hard Houston was hit by the storm. The only major thing it has affected so far is gas prices because refineries in Texas will have to close for a period of time. Trading in oil commodities drove up the price. The types of businesses that make money during times like these are grocery stores, since they usually run out of everything, and gas stations. Every company that has things that people will need will benefit in the short term. In the long term, construction and other similar industries will flourish because of all the work they have, and they will be able to command higher prices because they have a surplus of available job opportunities. The businesses that will be most damaged by natural disasters are luxury shops and restaurants and anything related to leisure. For at least a short time, people in the area won't have the time or money to go or shop at those types of places. Natural disasters, especially hurricanes, really destroy local economies and I don't see a way to prevent that other than with things that can be done for infrastructure through government. Works CitedComfort, L. K., & Haase, J. E. (2019). Building resilience, 185, 107041.