Harvey could leave long-lasting impacts on business across the US

As the Gulf Coast endures the wrath of Harvey, the impacts to commerce may linger long after the storm has dissipated.

Widespread disruptions to travel on land, air and sea have occurred as the result of Harvey. AccuWeather Meteorologists say that flooding and excessive wind damage could delay shipments in and out of the Texas coastal region for weeks.

United States oil refineries in Harvey's path have also been impacted. Nearly one-third of the country's refining capacity is in Harvey's path on the coasts of Texas and Louisiana, according to CNBC.

Railroads and highways may be washed out in some locations and may need to be rebuilt as the result of Harvey's inundating storm surge and flooding rainfall, according to Jonathan Porter, Vice President of Business Services for AccuWeather Enterprise Solutions, the AccuWeather specialized team responsible for providing highly detailed and actionable weather warnings and forecasts for businesses around the world.

Many companies, such as insurance firms and utilities, have begun staging resources outside of the threat zone, so once the storm is over, they will be able to deploy their vehicles or goods and services as needed. In fact, Porter said that the AccuWeather team has been warning customers of the flooding rainfall potential in Texas since last weekend, providing ample time to prepare for the storm’s impacts and enact response plans.

Petroleum refineries in Texas have a capacity of more than 5.4 million barrels of crude oil per day, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Corpus Christi-based refiners Valero Energy, Citgo Petroleum and Flint Hills Resources announced temporary shutdowns.

Houston-based companies Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell also put a halt on production and evacuated employees from their facilities in the Gulf of Mexico, according to Reuters. Royal Dutch Shell operates the world's deepest and second-deepest oil and gas production hubs.

Due to operational issues brought on by Harvey's flooding at Exxon Mobil's Baytown, Texas, complex, the company announced it was shutting down the facility until further notice. The plant processes up to 584,000 barrels of crude oil per day.

"We are in the process of a safe and systematic shutdown of operations. Safety is our first priority, and we are taking all precautions to minimize the impact to the community and employees throughout the shutdown process," Exxon Mobil said.

Shell has shut down its refinery in the town of Deer Park, according to CNBC. The refinery has a crude oil capacity of 340,000 barrels per day.

If oil refineries are shut down for an extended period, short-term gasoline outages may occur. Gas prices were already on the rise ahead of Harvey's arrival and may continue to increase up to 15 cents more per gallon after the storm.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said on Friday Aug. 25 that Harvey is going to be a "very major disaster." The Federal Emergency Management Agency has since granted Abbott's request for a presidential disaster declaration.

According to AccuWeather meteorologists, power outages may last well into this week and beyond in some areas.

For businesses such as restaurants, extended outages could be problematic as without refrigeration, tons of food will have to be thrown away.

Small and medium-sized companies that suffer extensive or catastrophic damage will face many challenges recovering from a storm like Harvey. Porter said that AccuWeather’s analytics show that over half a million businesses are in the area that will be impacted by Harvey.

Although Harvey is impacting many types of businesses, AccuWeather’s detailed insights show a large number of employees in the healthcare industry, education and hospitality and food services in the impact area.

It's possible that it could take multiple weeks before affected oil refineries re-open.

The Port of Galveston closed to all vessel and commercial traffic on Thursday, while the Port of Houston container terminals and general cargo facilities closed Friday. The Port of Corpus Christi is also closed. The Texas Ports Association is responsible for 1.4 million jobs that create $82.8 billion in personal income.

All three ports are scheduled to remain closed through Monday, Aug. 28.

Flight cancellations will mount in locations such as Corpus Christi and Houston as airports remain closed due to the severe flooding.

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