More than 32 million single-family homes and 1 million multi-family properties across the country are now at risk of damages from hurricane-force winds, with a combined total reconstruction cost of $11.6 trillion.
And, the risk related to these types of damages has only intensified in recent years due to the effects of climate change, particularly for properties with coastal exposure, according to the 2023 Hurricane Risk Report from CoreLogic, released on Thursday.
This report analyzes risks posed to properties along the U.S. Gulf and Atlantic coasts.
“CoreLogic remains committed to empowering the industry with reliable insights and innovative solutions that help safeguard people, businesses and communities from the escalating impacts of climate change,” Tom Larsen, senior director for CoreLogic Insurance Solutions, said in a statement. “Insurers and lenders should adapt to these changes by deepening their understanding of property risk, embracing proactive loss prevention measures and collaborating with stakeholders across the industry to ensure long-term resilience.”
Of the at-risk homes homes, about 7.8 million have direct or indirect coastal exposure, according to the report. This makes them more susceptible to storm surge flooding, and reconstruction costs for these homes are estimated at $2.6 trillion in total.
Several metro areas — including New York City, Houston and Miami — are at heightened risk of enduring hurricane-force winds, according to CoreLogic’s data. Damages to these metros from hurricane-force winds could result in an estimated total of $3.5 trillion in reconstruction costs alone.
The report also analyzes historical data, predictive models and existing weather patterns to project the potential impacts of hurricanes on coastal and neighboring regions by the year 2050.
“Research suggests that, by the year 2050, more powerful storms, a rise in sea level and warmer atmospheric temperatures will give hurricanes a greater capacity to hold more moisture,” the report states. “Simultaneously, warmer sea surface temperatures give storms the fuel to penetrate further inland to locations previously shielded from consequential damage.”
The homes and counties that have seen the biggest increase in risk related to hurricane-force wind damage are furthest from the coast. The risk to these homes was previously linked to dissipated winds, the report states.
“However, by mid-century, homeowners may need to consider how to mitigate and recover from hurricane wind damage as storms travel further inland, exposing more homes to hurricane-force winds,” the report notes. “The 2023 Hurricane Risk Report further illustrates what these risks might look like, using the Houston-Galveston area as an example.”
