Talk about underwater.
Florida is the state with the highest number of properties at risk of storm surge damage, with nearly 2.5 million homes at various risk levels and $490 billion in total potential exposure to damage, according to CoreLogic.
Rounding out the top five states in terms of storm surge risk are Louisiana, with 738,165 homes at risk; New York, with 466,919 home at risk; New Jersey, with 445,928 homes at risk; and Texas, with 434,421 homes at risk.
Altogether, more than 6.5 million homes along the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf coasts are at risk of storm surge inundation, representing nearly $1.5 trillion in total potential reconstruction costs. More than $986 billion of that risk is concentrated within 15 major metro areas, according to CoreLogic.
Of course, it should be noted that the likelihood of multiple storms hitting all of the coasts and affecting all of these properties in a single season is extremely low. What's more, forecasters are calling for a relatively tame storm season for the U.S. in 2014.
States with the lowest total number of properties at risk for storm surge include the District of Columbia, with 3,895 homes at risk; New Hampshire, with 10,853 homes at risk; Maine, with 23,439 homes at risk; Rhode Island, with 26,558 homes at risk; and Delaware, with 48,534 homes at risk.
The New York metropolitan area, including northern New Jersey and Long Island, has not only the highest number of homes at risk for potential storm surge damage (687,412), but also the highest total reconstruction value of homes exposed, at more than $251 billion.
CoreLogic's analysis of storm surge risk has been expanded from prior years' reports to include mobile homes, duplexes, manufactured homes and cabins, among other non-traditional home types. The addition of these categories, along with new construction, contributed to a higher number of total homes identified within potential surge areas.
The values represent estimates of reconstruction costs, taking into account labor and materials, and are based on 100% destruction of the residential structure.
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