Hurricane Hysteria
Florida's four hurricanes in the summer of 2004 were unforgiving and relentless. Acres of citrus and other agricultural products were destroyed. The state's most important industry was grounded to a halt by keeping tourists away from its sandy beaches and fantasy-filled theme parks. Thousands of people lost jobs. Until this year, many Floridians had never experienced a hurricane. Then came Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne. For the first time in recorded history, four hurricanes slammed the Sunshine State in a single season. Residents suffered without power for days. They cleaned up mountains of debris and thousands of downed trees. And some saw their homes damaged or destroyed. With an estimated 50 billion dollars in damage to public and private property, including over 20 billion in insured losses that could make them the nation's costliest natural disasters. Florida's economy is predominately based on tourism. Warm weather for the majority of the year and many miles of untainted beaches provide a thriving vacation spot for travelers from around the world. The large Walt Disney World theme park and resort complex, located near Orlando, drives the economy of that area, along with more recent entries into
So even though the hurricanes had many negative impacts, this was one perk that cannot be ignored. With the arrival of the space program at Kennedy Space Center in the 1960s, Florida has attracted a large number of aerospace and military industries to the state. 12) President Bush requested 225 million dollars in disaster assistance for the state's citrus growers from Charley and more was expected after Frances hit. The agriculture industry was hit the hardest and those losses cannot be made up. Florida has four main sectors that control its economy - agriculture, tourism, construction, and retail trade. Florida is still the leading state in tourism and most likely always will be. Except for agriculture which Hurricane Charley caused more than 20% damage to next years citrus crop. The state's agriculture stands to be hurt more severely than any other of the four. With all the chaos and hysteria, the hurricanes will bring a phenomenon called the "Jacuzzi Effect. As long as 2005 is hurricane free, then we can see an increase and the industry will be back on track. While Florida's insurance market has its own disaster fund, damage elsewhere could cause companies to raise premiums. In the long run, the hurricanes will most likely have a little impact.
Common topics in this essay:
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Ivan Jeanne,
Residents Sunshine,
President Bush,
Charles Bronson,
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Space Center,
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Hurricane Charley,
florida's economy,
construction industry,
theme parks,
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Acceptance Essays
