Florida at greatest risk for storm surge damage

(KPRC)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Sunshine State stands to lose the most if a hurricane makes landfall this year, as more than 2.5 million homes in Florida are at risk of being damaged by storm surge, according to a study released Thursday by CoreLogic.

That puts $491 million worth of property at risk of flooding, according to the report.

Recommended Videos



The study said 175,045 properties in the Jacksonville metropolitan area are potentially affected by hurricane storm surge, which could cause up to $36 billion in damages. An additional 12,164 properties in greater Jacksonville are zoned for potential freshwater flooding.

After New York, the communities that the report lists as most at risk are Miami and Tampa.

As an example, should all the 564,913 at-risk properties in Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm were be damaged in a hurricane, reconstruction costs could reach $105 billion.

DOCUMENT: CoreLogic 2015 storm surge report

The report separated the homes into risk levels, which rise or fall depending on the category of the hurricane. Almost 200,000 of South Florida's homes -- including mobile homes, cabins and other non-traditional residences -- could be affected by the weakest of hurricanes, a Category 1.

The risk for hurricane damage is actually greater in the New York metropolitan area, which has 685,152 homes in areas that could be affected by flood waters. The area's reconstruction cost more than doubles that of South Florida, estimated at $244 billion, according to the report.

On a statewide level, the number of homes at risk in Florida is more than triple that the next-highest state, Louisiana, which has 760,272 homes in storm surge zones. Though Louisiana has the second-highest number of homes at risk, the majority of homes are in danger of damage only from a Category 2 or higher storm, due in part to the region's upgraded levee system.

"The number of hurricanes each year is less important than the location of where the next hurricane will come ashore," said Dr. Tom Jeffery, senior hazard risk scientist for CoreLogic, in a statement. "It only takes one hurricane that pushes storm surge into a major metropolitan area for the damage to tally in the billions of dollars. With new home construction, and any amount of sea-level rise, the number of homes at risk of storm surge damage will continue to increase."

Coastal states with the least risk of hurricane flood damage include Delaware, Maine, New Hampshire, Washington, D.C., and Rhode Island.