With catastrophic flooding and wildfires, above-average disasters plagued 2018, with billions in estimated damage to property, according to a new report.
Across businesses and homes in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia, billions in damages due to flooding from Hurricane Florence were sustained, totaling $19 billion-$28.5 billion in losses, according to CoreLogic estimates from its latest Natural Hazard Report, released yearly. Florence ravaged the region in September, with 700,000 business and homes impacted by the storm, the report shows.
When accounting for both flooding and wind, the estimates for Florence grow to $20 billion-$30 billion, both insured and uninsured, according to the report. Of flood losses on the residential side, an astounding 85 percent were uninsured.
Hurricane Michael, which hit the Florida Panhandle in October, caused $2.5 billion-$4 billion in damages, both from flooding and wind, according to estimates in the report.
The California Camp and Woolsey Fires, which broke out in November, caused an estimated $15 billion-$19 billion in losses, both insured and uninsured. Combined, more than 20,000 businesses and homes were razed in the wildfires, and an entire town, Paradise, was lost.
“In 2018, the U.S. continued to experience damaging weather and natural catastrophes in high-exposure areas, and in some instances, in regions that had been impacted in less than a year prior,” says Howard Botts, chief scientist at CoreLogic. “Hazards will always pose a real threat to homes and businesses and knowing exactly what that risk entails is critical to helping ensure sufficient protection from the financial catastrophes that so often follow natural disasters.
For more information, please visit www.corelogic.com. Â
Suzanne De Vita is RISMedia’s online news editor. Email her your real estate news ideas at sdevita@rismedia.com.
