Rock You Like A Hurricane

In a recent article by the Dayton Daily News, it was revealed that the freak storms attributed to Hurricane Ike -- which blew through our region last year in September -- had cost Montgomery County $8.4 million. Dayton alone had collected 1.2 million dollars in aid, the largest in the area. Although windstorms fall more under the domain of meteorology than business organizations, the lasting effects of Ike offer us all something to consider.

Whenever disaster strikes, it's not uncommon to see skilled laborers pour in from miles around, some even going so far as to come from other states. A personal example of this springs to mind; last year I was involved in an auto accident with a pair of roofers from Indiana who had come in looking for work in the wake of the storm. This means a big boost for local businesses (at least, those local businesses not destroyed by inconvenient and unexpected hurricanes) and workmen of all types. Our recession has caused a great deal of damage to the economy of the region -- the GM plant closings being the largest example that springs to mind, though there are obviously others -- so albeit that the lion's share of the economic boost was well before these events took place, it's still refereshing to know that there was some sort of help to regional business.

However, the article mentions the fact that after federal reimbursement ran out, Montgomery county was still stuck with $118,337 in uncovered costs. This...this isn't quite as great to hear, said plainly. Budgets are tight (well, obviously) and without belaboring the point, every dollar counts. I'll say freely that I'm not the best at economics -- my only real areas of any formal education to speak of stand in English and law -- but even though I'm aware of the fact that it's not a net loss...well, it sure feels like one to me.

With our national economy the way it is (though if you listen to the New York Times, we're through the worst of things) many people simply can't afford to make the repairs that freak acts of nature incur. Having spent more than a few years of my life in a less-than-ideal situation as far as money was concerned, I know that we wouldn't have been able to cover the cost of re-roofing, given that food and rent was hard enough to come by. For all the good it's done for certian local businesses, I can't help but think of all the people who took a blow as a result.

Hopefully this won't be a repeat performance: I certainly wouldn't bet on it. But how this nearly $120,000 blow will affect Dayton, a town with enough problems already, remains to be seen.