Number of US Homes at Risk of Storm Surge Damage in 2015 Tops 6.6 Million

This post is part of a series sponsored by CoreLogic.

Total Reconstruction Cost Value of Homes is Nearly $1.5 Trillion

Although the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf coasts have been spared any significant hurricane damage over the past two years, it should not be perceived as the new normal.

New CoreLogic data released earlier this month shows there are more than 6.6 million homes on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts at risk of damage from storm surge inundation. The total reconstruction cost value (RCV) for these homes is nearly $1.5 trillion. These numbers include all properties that are susceptible to storm surge from any category of storm, up through a Category 5 hurricane. It is most certainly a tragedy when homes are damaged or destroyed by storm surge, but that tragedy is magnified when homeowners are unaware that they are even located in an area in which storm surge is possible. Contrary to popular belief, storm surge risk is not limited only to homes right at the coastline. Water pushed ashore by hurricane-driven storm surge can travel through inland waterways and damage homes several miles inland.

The 2015 CoreLogic Storm Surge Report reveals that six states account for more than three-quarters of all at-risk homes nationally. Florida, with a long coastal exposure to cyclones, tops the list for highest number of properties at various risk levels with more than 2.5 million total homes susceptible to damage from Category 1-5 hurricanes. Additionally, Florida also ranks first for highest RCV, at more than $491 billion.

States like New York, however, have much less coastline to deal with, but due to the density of residential housing along the coast, the number of homes potentially at risk tops 464,000 and has a total RCV that ranks second. The potential damage to New York was brought into perspective in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in 2012 and its estimated $60 billion in damages, placing it second only behind Hurricane Katrina on the list of costliest Atlantic hurricanes.

CoreLogic (NYSE: CLGX) is a leading property information, analytics and services provider. The company’s combined public, contributory and proprietary data sources include over 3.3 billion records spanning more than 40 years. The company helps clients identify and manage growth opportunities, improve performance and mitigate risk. For more information visit www.corelogic.com.

Topics Catastrophe USA Windstorm Hurricane Homeowners