Data provided by CoreLogic, the leading global property information, analytics, and data-enabled solutions provider, shows that the residential and commercial property damages caused by wind, storm surge, and inland flooding in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama are estimated to hit $40 billion.
The Key Takeaways
The insured residential and commercial properties face an estimated loss of between $6 and $9 billion from inland flooding and storm surge.
Uninsured flood losses in the same area (Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama) are estimated to be between $8 and $12 billion.
Additional losses from insured wind damages are estimated to be between $8 and $12 billion.
More than 90% of the losses are recorded in Louisiana, primarily in the nine parishes in the New Orleans-Metairie-Hammond metropolitan area. The losses further extend to the west in the Ascension, Lafourche, Livingston, and Terrebonne parishes.
About Hurricane Ida
Hurricane Ida is the fourth and major hurricane of 2021. It rapidly intensified into a Category 4 hurricane before making its landfall in Port Fourchon on Sunday, 29th August. It happens that this day was the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.
The initial landfall did not affect much of Louisiana’s real estate stock since Port Fourchon is a remote area that is about 15 miles southeast of Grand Isle. The area is also known as a major conveyor of petroleum. However, the areas near Hurricane Ida’s landfall experienced destructive winds of over 145mph. Also, more property damages were caused by wind and flooding in the immediate days after the storm.
Differences Between Hurricane Ida And Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Ida occurred less than 40 miles from where Hurricane Katrina made its landfall. However, the two landfalls had significant differences. For example, according to Tom Larsen, the insurance solutions principle at CoreLogic, Hurricane Ida had a higher wind-speed Category storm at landfall than Hurricane Katrina. Contrary, Hurricane Katrina had a larger wind field than Hurricane Ida, and spent more hours as a Category 5 storm but weakened when it approached landfall.
Hurricane Katrina also brought a higher storm surge than Hurricane Ida and flooded almost 80% of New Orleans. More devastations were also faced on the Mississippi coast. And as more climate changes continue to affect the ocean temperatures, residents should expect more frequent and destructive tropical cyclone activities. As such, homeowners and regional public agency leaders are advised to stay awake for more city infrastructure and financial protection from the upheaval.
The Analysis
According to Larsen, only 40 to 50% of losses from Hurricane Ida are insured. This could be a great improvement considering there were more uninsured losses seen from Hurricane Harvey and Katrina. However, these estimates were only from the residential homes and commercial properties, including contents and business interruptions. They did not include broader economic losses caused by the storm. The inland flood analysis is also based on the rainfall that occurred 48 hours during the storm and ended at 6 am CDT on 31st August 2021.
The survivors of Hurricane Ida sought refuge in the Tennessee Valley, although the area is still recovering from an unexpected flash flood that swept through Waverly on 21st August. The Tennessee Valley is also expecting more floods in the coming days. As such, residents in saturated grounds should be cautious as rains continue through the week due to possibilities of ground erosion like the highway collapse in Lucedale, Mississippi.
(Written and edited by The Decision Maker Team)
