6.6M Homes at Risk of Hurricane Damage This Year. Here’s Which States They’re In
As hurricane season gets underway, real estate analytics firm CoreLogic is warning that there are more than 6.6 million U.S. homes at risk of being hit by a storm surge. That could lead to as much at $1.5 trillion in damage.
The homes are in 19 states and the District of Columbia along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts. Six states account for more than three-quarters of all at-risk homes, with Florida having the most (2.5 million), followed by Louisiana (760,000), New York (465,000), New Jersey (446,148), Texas (441,304) and Virginia (420,052).
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“The number of hurricanes each year is less important than the location of where the next hurricane will come ashore,” CoreLogic’s senior hazard risk analyst said 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.”
The District of Columbia has the lowest number of properties at risk (3,700), followed by New Hampshire (12,400) and Maine (22,500
State Table (Ranked by Number of Homes at Risk)
|
Rank |
State |
Extreme |
Very High |
High |
Moderate |
Low* |
Total |
|
1 |
Florida |
793,204 |
461,632 |
524,923 |
352,102 |
377,951 |
2,509,812 |
|
2 |
Louisiana |
97,760 |
104,059 |
337,495 |
138,762 |
82,196 |
760,272 |
|
3 |
New York |
127,325 |
114,876 |
131,039 |
91,294 |
N/A |
464,534 |
|
4 |
New Jersey |
116,581 |
178,668 |
73,303 |
77,596 |
N/A |
446,148 |
|
5 |
Texas |
45,800 |
70,894 |
112,189 |
116,168 |
96,253 |
441,304 |
|
6 |
Virginia |
94,260 |
115,770 |
98,463 |
84,015 |
27,544 |
420,052 |
|
7 |
South Carolina |
107,443 |
57,327 |
65,885 |
46,799 |
30,961 |
308,415 |
|
8 |
North Carolina |
73,463 |
51,927 |
48,595 |
40,155 |
37,347 |
251,487 |
|
9 |
Massachusetts |
31,420 |
65,279 |
74,413 |
49,325 |
N/A |
220,437 |
|
10 |
Maryland |
47,990 |
39,966 |
27,591 |
28,975 |
N/A |
144,522 |
|
11 |
Georgia |
41,970 |
52,281 |
28,852 |
19,190 |
8,465 |
150,758 |
|
12 |
Pennsylvania |
1,467 |
45,776 |
37,983 |
32,426 |
N/A |
117,652 |
|
13 |
Mississippi |
14,809 |
20,643 |
29,387 |
27,507 |
10,588 |
102,934 |
|
14 |
Connecticut |
25,292 |
23,656 |
22,230 |
26,529 |
N/A |
97,707 |
|
15 |
Alabama |
7,403 |
12,707 |
10,182 |
13,749 |
14,086 |
58,127 |
|
16 |
Delaware |
11,523 |
10,854 |
13,528 |
13,811 |
N/A |
49,716 |
|
17 |
Rhode Island |
6,595 |
5,988 |
6,720 |
7,187 |
N/A |
26,490 |
|
18 |
Maine |
5,159 |
2,753 |
7,368 |
7,211 |
N/A |
22,491 |
|
19 |
New Hampshire |
2,514 |
3,470 |
4,234 |
2,272 |
N/A |
12,490 |
|
20 |
District of Columbia |
N/A** |
N/A** |
545 |
3,123 |
N/A |
3,668 |
|
Total |
1,651,978 |
1,438,526 |
1,654,925 |
1,178,196 |
685,391 |
6,609,016 |
* The "Low" risk category is based on Category 5 hurricanes, which are not likely along the northeastern Atlantic coast. States in that area have N/A designated for the Low category due to the extremely low probability of a Category 5 storm affecting that area.
** Washington, D.C. has no Atlantic coastal properties, but can be affected by larger hurricanes that push storm surge into the Potomac River. Category 1 and 2 storms will likely not generate sufficient storm surge to affect properties in Washington, D.C.
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