Hurricane Matthew causes billions in property damage

Residential and commercial properties suffered billions in insured damages last week when Hurricane Matthew slammed the southeast

Residential and commercial properties suffered billions of dollars in insured damages last week when Hurricane Matthew slammed the Southeast, according to a CoreLogic report.

According to the report, damages from wind and storm surge is estimated to be between $4 billion and $6 billion. That doesn’t include insured losses from flooding, business interruption or lost contents, according to CoreLogic.

Of the $4 billion to $6 billion estimated, 90% of insurance claims are expected to be related to wind, while 10% are projected to be storm surge-related.

CoreLogic also compared projected damages from Hurricane Matthew to damages incurred during hurricanes David (1979), Floyd (1999), Katrina (2005) and Sandy (2012). While Matthew caused much less damage than Katrina or Sandy, which caused $35-$40 billion and $15-$20 billion in damages, respectively, it’s shaping up to be more expensive than either Floyd or David. Floyd caused $3 billion in damages, while David caused $2 billion.

CoreLogic estimated that about 1.5 million residential and commercial properties were impacted by Matthew. However, the damage could have been worse.

“The fact that structures in the region are comprised primarily of masonry, wood and veneers, coupled with the stringent Florida building codes, helps reduce total insured property losses compared with other memorable storms,” CoreLogic reported.