10:59 AM CDT on Sunday, October 2, 2005

Associated Press

Economist Tim Ryan says he would not be surprised if New Orleans area business failures caused by Hurricane Katrina run much higher than the national average for disaster-related failures of 25 percent.

Ryan, who also is chancellor of the University of New Orleans, says one nugget of good news is that rebuilding efforts will likely create opportunities for new businesses.

The New Orleans area was home to more than 115,000 businesses in 2002 -- most are small companies or self-employed individuals.

If Ryan's worst fears come to pass, close to 60,000 small companies, from restaurants and travel agents to law firms and doctor's offices, will disappear from the New Orleans area.

That's a much larger number than any previous estimates.

(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)