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Hurricane Michael is gathering force as it moves north-northwestward up the Gulf of Mexico. Expected to land as a category 3 hurricane, the intensifying storm threatens serious damages from a combination of high winds, storm surges, and flooding. Storm surges whipped up by hurricanes in the past have inflicted serious damage to residential neighborhoods when high winds and low pressure caused water trapped within the storm’s centers to come gushing out.
CoreLogic has released a report that estimates the total damage in dollars the hurricane threatens if it continues on its current path, or its reconstruction cost value (RCV). The RCV as calculated by CoreLogic assumes 100 percent of all at-risk homes will be destroyed, and findings in this worst-case scenario reveal a total 57,000 homes currently at risk. This puts the RCV currently at $13.4 billion dollars. CoreLogic will also host a pre-landfall webinar on Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. EDT with updated figures of any changes in the storm’s path or intensity.
If the storm continues on its current course, however, certain areas are likely to suffer worse damage than others. The report by CoreLogic calculates the damage according to core-based statistical areas (CBSAs), and homes in the Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, Florida area are currently seen as taking the brunt of the storm’s lashing, with estimations of damage calculated in this CBSA over $8.2 trillion. Panama City could see damages as costly as $3.9 trillion, while Tallahassee could withstand over $1.2 trillion in property damages. If the storm intensifies further, these numbers will only increase.
According to Gov. Rick Scott’s Twitter account, he has as of this morning just “activated 2,500 @FLGuard troops and the FL Highway Patrol is making nearly 350 troopers available for deployment.”
As industry watchers brace themselves for Hurricane Michael’s impact, the effects of Hurricane Maria a year ago are still being felt. On November 14-16, the Five Star Institute will host the PR18 Summit in San Juan, Puerto Rico to focus on rebuilding efforts and the current state of the U.S. territory following Hurricane Maria. Housing industry executives representing banks, servicers, and suppliers, as well as key stakeholders in the affected regions, local officials, and representatives from related governmental agencies, will be in attendance to collaborate and discuss Puerto Rico’s affairs, as well as brainstorm long-term solutions to the housing crisis on the island.
