Hurricane Katrina and the housing market

The more I read about Hurricane Katrina, the more terrifying she seems. This article provides an efficient doomsday scenario of what may happen in the aftermath, most specifically regarding oil prices.

Port Fourchon … the nation’s premiere oil and gas support services facility–and right now it lies within 12 miles of Hurricane Katrina’s CAT-3 or CAT-4 bullseye. Over 600 platforms and 75% of the Gulf’s deepwater projects lie within a 40-mile radius of Port Fourchon. …

Put another way, there is no other dot on the map that is more important to the nation’s energy supply …

I am not an economist, nor a fortune teller, but I know that if gas goes to $3 or $3.50 a gallon, we will see many significant changes in all aspects of our lives, not the least the housing market and how people work and live. The next few days, weeks and months will be fascinating and historical, if the blogs and news are right.

Development may slow. There may be people unable to drive the 20 minutes to and 20 minutes from work, consolidating errands may not be sufficient. Can the Fed continue to increase rates if fuel prices are so high?

What are the comparisons between the late 70’s/early 80’s?

If you pray, pray for those in the path of this storm.

Update 0710 Monday morning:Commentator on CNBC just said that “a burp in the refineries can make gas prices go up 5 to 7 cents in an hour, now we’re talking about 40% of our oil supply.”

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