How about the number of jobs that will be created cleaning everything up?

Hurricane Irene to deliver blow to economy - Business - US business - msnbc.com: "Statistician Nate Silver, who crunched the data for his New York Times blog, puts the worst-case estimate at $35 billion -- half of New York City's annual budget -- if Irene were to pass directly over Manhattan with 100 mile-per-hour winds. While the odds of a direct hit on the city are slim, a Category 2 storm passing within 50 miles of downtown would cause $10 billion in damage, according to Silver's model."

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