To better prepare for the inevitable disasters, oil refineries must seek a better understanding of the potential that lies within natural disasters, and to do so they must learn from previous disasters. One major example that occurred very recently is that of Hurricane Harvey. Hurricane Harvey, a Category 4 hurricane, struck the coast of Texas on August 25, 2017. Harvey caused great devastation in Texas and the surrounding area due to torrential rainfall, high speed winds, and flooding. Hurricane Harvey, much like its predecessors, was unavoidable. Hurricane Harvey cost millions of dollars worth of damage to communities in Texas, but the physical pain was not the only pain that Harvey delivered to the United States. The economic devastation was also detrimental due to the fact that there are major oil refineries within the southern region of the United States, primarily on the coastlines of Texas. According to a Forbes article by Kenneth Rapoza,

S&P Global Platts estimates that around 2.33 million barrels a day of Texas refining capacity is now closed and with some refiners cutting production rates, that figure is likely to go even higher. If those cuts hit 50% of capacity, that would put the total downed capacity at 3.36 million barrels per day, meaning that 18% of the U.S. total oil supply is on hold.

This was one of the top stories in late August after Hurricane Harvey hit much of the southern United States. Basically, what it means is that oil refineries had to shut down due to Hurricane Harvey, and this stop in the production of petroleum products is going to deal a major hit to the United States economy and GDP; a GDP that relies on $61.9 billion worth of refined petroleum product exports to function according to the Observatory of Economic Complexity. Not all refineries are located in Texas though, otherwise the economic devastation would be much worse. However, Port Arthur, Texas is home to the United States’ largest oil refinery. The Motiva refinery in Port Arthur is capable of shipping out 600,000 barrels of products everyday according to the Motiva website. Cutting production of the Motiva refinery would also cut out a large source of revenue for the economy, but on Wednesday August 30th, Motiva began completely shutting down the Port Arthur Refinery according to CNBC. The main cause behind this was torrential rainfall and flooding overnight by Hurricane Harvey. 
         Natural disasters, such as Hurricane Harvey, destroy towns, businesses, and lives. They are a force of nature that cannot be controlled or predicted. With this unpredictability, comes heightened risk. Heightened risk of property damage or loss, loss of life or injury, economic devastation, and, probably biggest of all, the risk of environmental degradation.

Works Cited:
“Nation's largest refinery shuts in Port Arthur, Texas due to Harvey flooding.”
       CNBC, 30 Aug. 2017. Web. 12 Nov. 2017.
“Our Production.” Motiva, n.d.. Web. 12 Nov. 2017.
Rapoza, Kenneth. “Hurricane Harvey Forces Even More Texas Oil Refineries To Close.”
       Forbes Magazine, 30 Aug. 2017. Web. 12 Nov. 2017.
“United States.” OEC - United States (USA) Exports, Imports, and Trade Partners,
       The Observatory of Economic Complexity, atlas.media.mit.edu/en/profile/country/usa/.