Devastating hurricanes Helene and Milton left so intricate damage that the total is still being calculated, but government and private experts predict that they will probably join Katrina, Sandy, and Harvey as extremely expensive disasters that cost more than $50 billion.
Even worse, victims were left in a worse financial situation because the majority of the damage—95 percent or more in Helene’s case—was not covered by insurance.
Over time, the number of storm deaths has decreased, but Helene was an anomaly.
But even after accounting for inflation, experts from a variety of sectors stated that human-caused climate change is making storms stronger and wetter, that people are building in dangerous areas, and that the costs of rebuilding are increasing more quickly than inflation.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has recorded 396 weather-related disasters of at least $1 billion in damage during the past 45 years, adjusted for inflation. Of those, sixty-three were tropical storms or hurricanes.
The $50 billion barrier for direct losses is a defining factor for “truly historic events,” according to Adam Smith, a meteorologist and economist who oversees the list from NOAA’s National Center for Environmental Information in Asheville, North Carolina, which was affected by the firestorm.
Just eight hurricanes made it to that point. Smith stated that he believed Helene and Milton had “a very good shot” of being added to that list.
Andrew, the 1992 hurricane, was the first to cost $50 billion. The United States had to wait another 13 years for Katrina to top the damage ranking, and then another 7 years for Sandy, the third expensive disaster. In about seven years, Helene and Milton would turn seven.
Damage calculations are not a precise science. According to Smith, the lengthier it takes, the more complicated and nasty the storms are, such as Milton and Helene.
Damage occurs in several locations and frequently covers a much wider region; for example, water damage occurs in certain areas and wind damage in others.
Particularly, Helene brought up extensive flooding in areas that were not accustomed to it. Private companies’ recent estimates for such storms are inconsistent and lacking.
Insured damage, uninsured damage, and total economic cost are the three types of damage. Only insured losses are estimated by many risk and insurance companies.
Insured damage accounts for almost 44% of total expenditures from the top 10 most expensive hurricanes, as determined by insurance behemoth Swiss Re, excluding Helene and Milton.
Aon’s Dickson, however, calculated that only 5% of Helene’s victims had insurance coverage for the kind of damage they sustained. He calculated that the insured damage was $10 billion, which would place the overall damage in the $100–200 billion range. He described this as a touch excessive, but within reasonable bounds.
He estimated Milton’s insured losses are between $50 billion and $60 billion.
According to Swiss Re, Helene, less than 2% of Georgia households are covered by federal flood insurance, compared to 3% and 9% in North Carolina and South Carolina, respectively.
Read Also: Hurricanes Helene and Milton: Florida’s Neighbors Join Forces to Rebuild
Fewer than one percent of the homes in Buncombe County, North Carolina, where Helene’s floods claimed the lives of over 57 people, had federal flood insurance, the bureau stated.
The financial services giant Moody’s estimated that the cumulative damage from the two storms would be between $20 billion and $34 billion.
Total damage estimates for the storms would not be provided by Karen Clark and Company, a disaster modeling firm that overlays insurance and storm data with computer simulations.
However, the business estimated that Milton’s insured losses alone were $36 billion, while Helene’s were $6.4 billion.
CBS News: Helene, Milton losses expected to surpass “truly historic” $50 billion each
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