CoreLogic: 42,000 metro-area homes at risk of storm damage

IN THE PROVIDENCE-WARWICK metro area, which extends into Bristol County, Mass., 41,963 single-family homes fall within storm-surge risk zones, CoreLogic said Thursday. / COURTESY CORELOGIC
IN THE PROVIDENCE-WARWICK metro area, which extends into Bristol County, Mass., 41,963 single-family homes fall within storm-surge risk zones, CoreLogic said Thursday. / COURTESY CORELOGIC

PROVIDENCE – Nearly 42,000 single-family homes in the Providence-Warwick metro area are located within storm-surge risk zones, and nearly 10,000 of those are at extreme risk, according to the 2014 storm-surge analysis released Thursday by real estate data firm CoreLogic.
The 41,963 homes at risk in the region, which extends into Bristol County, Mass., have a combined reconstruction value of $11.9 billion.
“Though the 2013 hurricane season will be remembered for the fact that no storms made landfall along the U.S. coast, this reprieve from hurricane-related damage should not lead to complacency in preparing for future storms and the potential life-threatening conditions they can bring,” said Thomas Jeffery, senior hazard scientist for CoreLogic Spatial Solutions.
“This year’s season is projected to be slightly below normal in hurricane activity, but the early arrival of Hurricane Arthur on July 3 is an important reminder that even a low-category hurricane or strong tropical storm can create powerful riptides, modest flooding and cause significant destruction of property,” he added.
Statewide in Rhode Island, 26,558 homes are at some level of risk from hurricane surges, CoreLogic said, and 6,635 are at extreme risk, meaning that they would be affected by all hurricane category levels. Although the number of properties at risk in Rhode Island is among the lowest along the East Coast and Gulf, the 26,558 homes in storm-surge zones have a combined reconstruction cost of $7.4 billion.
In Massachusetts, 218,913 homes are located within storm-surge risk zones, with a total reconstruction cost of $63 billion, and 31,023 properties are at extreme risk.
Florida ranked No. 1 in the CoreLogic study for the highest number of homes 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’s findings, more than 6.5 million homes along the 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, CoreLogic said.

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