What a difference a day makes? In South Louisiana we've learned what a difference two or three days of non-stop heavy rainfall can make. It can make neighborhood streets rivers. It can make family memories truly just memories. It can take thousands of lives and turn them upside down.

While the physical damage will eventually be repaired. The furniture and automobiles will eventually be replaced. When will the actual end of the nightmare be replaced by a sense of "normal"?

For those affected by the high water the lingering effects between their ears might take months or even years to be reconciled. In economic terms, when will businesses and jobs and schools and all the normal day to day functions of home and family return to normal?

One LSU economist suggests it will take about a year for that to happen. Unfortunately it will be our smaller businesses that will have the longest road and the steepest climb to recovery.

You have other smaller stores that will have to work a little bit harder maybe, will not have that same ability to just draw on extra funds. They’ll have to look at different ways, could be some federal money, small business loans.

That's what Jim Richardson told the Louisiana Radio Network in discussing the economic outlook for the state following the flood.

Richardson suggested that the high water will cause a short economic boom for areas affected. There will be an influx of cash from the federal and state relief agencies. There will also be insurance money available to consumers who were protected from such calamities as flooding. That means furniture stores, car dealers, building material suppliers, and flooring contractors will be quite busy over the next few months.

The most pain and the most suffering, and people wondering what do I do? Apartments will be taken up really quickly probably, some people may be able to rent a home depending on their own resource availability.

Since many flood victims were not in mapped out flood zones they did not carry flood insurance. This will be a struggle for those who need to replace and rebuild a damaged home.

They’re going to have to refinance their house. If it were paid for, to go back and essentially borrow money on it again. What it’s going to do is put people into a situation that they don’t expect to be in.

For some it will mean a temporary setback. For others it will mean a lifetime of work and savings will need to be reworked. The good news is that strong rain won't last but strong people will survive.

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