Hurricane Laura, which tore through Louisiana in late August, is estimated to have caused $1.1 billion in damage to the state’s timber industry, according to the LSU AgCenter.
The Category 4 hurricane devastated 757,538 acres of forestry in from the southwest to northeast parts of Louisiana.
Laura appears to be the most devastating storm to ever hit the state’s timber industry, inflicting more damage than 2005’s Katrina and Rita hurricanes combined, according to the report. Most of the damage was caused by wind, which raged at 150 miles per hour at the storm’s peak.
“Unlike other storms that resulted in widespread and prolonged flooding, Hurricane Laura moved quickly through the state with flooding being generally confined to tidal surge along the coast,” AgCenter Economist Kurt Guidry said in a statement. “However, excessive winds throughout Laura’s entire path through the state caused significant infrastructure damage.”
