PRINCEVILLE — Hurricane Floyd dealt a major blow to the economies of dozens of counties in eastern North Carolina. But the flooding could also provide a big boost to the economy during the coming year.

The rebuilding process is pumping big money into the construction industry. A leading North Carolina economist predicts it will add more than $1 billion to construction spending this year.

Contractors who are putting in a lot of overtime say the figure is not surprising considering all the work left to be done.

"It's not really a surprise, because there's been a lot of devastation down here. But as revenue goes, and hiring new workers, and the tax base of certain things, it's going to be a lot of money generated from this unfortunate situation," says subcontractor Michael Young.

Some contractors say they have been able to add more employees because of the increase in business.

In many areas, there are not enough contractors available to handle the workload.