It Figures

$55.5 million
The tally for disaster aid to Texas residents and businesses affected by June 16 – Aug. 3 severe storms, tornadoes and flooding comes to $55,541,143, according to state and federal officials. The aid comes from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Governor’s Division of Emergency Management (GDEM) and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). The amount includes $19,369,150 in disaster housing assistance through FEMA’s individual assistance program, $4,442,387 for the Other Needs Assistance (ONA) program, $8,653,306 for the public assistance program and $23,076,300 in SBA disaster loan assistance.

$190,000
Wyndham Hotel Management Inc. will pay $190,000 in consumer restitution and state investigation costs as part of a settlement with Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott over price-gouging consumers during Hurricane Rita. The settlement was reached on behalf of The St. Anthony, a Wyndham Historic Hotel Inc., and Wyndham International Inc., the AG’s office reported. In the future, Wyndham’s room rate may not exceed its standard room rate by more than 10 percent during a declared disaster. Wyndham is also barred from collecting hotel occupancy taxes from evacuees who are fleeing a disaster.

The AG’s office says its investigation indicated The St. Anthony price-gouged occupants who fled Hurricane Rita and that the hotel nearly doubled prices for evacuees who needed to stay additional nights, despite a low occupancy rate at the time.

$250 billion
A major disruption to the Internet would cost the global economy an estimated $250 billion, according to a report released by the Business Roundtable, an association of U.S. chief executive officers. The report, “Growing Business Dependence on the Internet: New Risks Require CEO Action,” cites the potential and widespread effects a cyber disruption could have on society and urges CEOs to take necessary action to ensure continuity of their businesses. The report says a major Internet disruption would affect nearly every U.S. business, directly or indirectly, and the efforts to respond would create stress points that will hinder recovery.