According to new research by the property analytics company CoreLogic, wind and storm surge losses from Hurricane Ian might total as much as $47 billion in Florida alone. This estimate is increased by inflation and rising interest rates.
According to Tom Larsen, associate vice president for hazard and risk management at CoreLogic, “this is the costliest Florida storm since Hurricane Andrew made landfall in 1992 and a record amount of homes and properties were lost owing to Hurricane Ian’s severe and destructive features.”
The estimated cost of wind damage for residential and commercial properties in Florida, where Ian made landfall Wednesday afternoon near Fort Myers, is from $22 billion to $32 billion. According to CoreLogic, storm-surge damage might cost an additional $6 to $15 billion. According to the company, the investigation was based on high-resolution photography and storm-surge computer modeling.
While Hurricane Ian has yet to make its second predicted landfall in South Carolina as a Category 1 storm on September 30, CoreLogic, said its calculations take insured and uninsured losses into account.
The recovery will be delayed and challenging because of the 40-year high inflation rate, interest rates that are close to 7, and a shortage of manpower and building supplies.
In a news release, Larsen stated that Hurricane Ian “will forever affect the real estate business and city infrastructure.” Insurance will become more difficult to obtain in places like Florida, insurers will declare bankruptcy, and homeowners will be forced into delinquency.
Along with the winds and surge on Florida’s southwest coast, Ian also brought about significant flooding inland. The National Weather Service stated that by Friday AM, the storm had intensified with winds of 85 mph after first weakening.
According to Larsen, the storm will certainly serve as a wake-up call and lead to stricter building regulations and more durable infrastructure.
As of Thursday afternoon, the satellite imagery company ICEYE reported that over 84,000 houses in southwest Florida’s coastal areas had been impacted by flooding and storm surges during Ian. Most of them experienced less than two feet of water, but according to the business, 284 of them were damaged by floodwaters that rose above eight feet.
