CoreLogic’s analysis of storm surge found states such as Florida and Louisiana are the predictable leaders in number of homes at risk and highest reconstruction cost. However, the Northeast holds a higher reconstruction value in proportion to a smaller total number of homes at risk.
For example, New York’s 466,919 homes in storm-surge risk zones in more than five times less than Florida’s at-risk homes (2.5 million), according to the report. This averages a cost to rebuild of $196,000 per home in Florida. But the cost to rebuild New York’s at-risk homes would cost $182.5 billion, or near $391,000 per home.
The reconstruction value of the homes exposed to storm surge damage in the Gulf—from Texas to western Florida—is much less than the reconstruction value of homes in the Atlantic region. The total reconstruction cost value of homes along the Atlantic coast is nearly $951 billion, which is approximately double the value of at-risk properties in the Gulf region at just over $545 billion.
Experts are calling for a below-normal Atlantic hurricane season this year following a relatively calm 2013 season, but CoreLogic said the threat of storm surge is not tied to the amount of tropical activity.
“This year’s season is projected to be slightly below normal in hurricane activity, but the early arrival of Hurricane Arthur on July 3 is an important reminder that even a low-category hurricane or strong tropical storm can create powerful riptides, modest flooding and cause significant destruction of property,” said Thomas Jeffery, senior hazard scientist for CoreLogic Spatial Solutions, in a statement.
In total, from Texas to Maine, more than 6.5 million homes are vulnerable to storm surge. To rebuild them would cost nearly $1.5 trillion, said CoreLogic.
More than $986 billion of the total reconstruction cost is located in 15 metropolitan areas, with New York leading all other with more than 687,000 home at risk and a reconstruction value of about $251 billion.
Chad Hemenway is Managing Editor of Advisen News. He has more than 15 years of journalist experience at a variety of online, daily, and weekly publications. He has covered P&C insurance news since 2007, and he has experience writing about all P&C lines as well as regulation and litigation. Chad won a Jesse H. Neal Award for Best Single Article in 2014 for his coverage of the insurance implications of traumatic brain injuries and Best News Coverage in 2013 for coverage of Superstorm Sandy. Contact Chad at 212.897.4824 or [email protected].
