CoreLogic: R.I. has more than 26,000 homes at risk for hurricane storm surges

MORE THAN 41,000 homes valued at $11.9 billion are at risk for hurricane storm surges in the Providence-Fall River-Warwick metropolitan area, according to CoreLogic. / COURTESY CORELOGIC
MORE THAN 41,000 homes valued at $11.9 billion are at risk for hurricane storm surges in the Providence-Fall River-Warwick metropolitan area, according to CoreLogic. / COURTESY CORELOGIC

PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island has 26,490 properties at risk, which ranks it 17th – or fourth lowest – on the list for properties at risk. Still, it would cost $7.5 billion to completely rebuild those properties, CoreLogic said.

CoreLogic also examined the risk from hurricane storm surges for homes in 84 metropolitan areas. Homes were categorized among five risk levels – low, moderate, high, very high and extreme. Rebuilding estimates, assume 100 percent destruction.

In addition, more than 41,000 homes valued at $11.9 billion are at risk for hurricane storm surges in the Providence-Fall River-Warwick metropolitan area, according to CoreLogic.

Of those homes, 9,710 are in the “extreme” risk zone, meaning they would be affected by all five hurricane category levels. Rebuilding those homes would cost $2.7 billion.

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Another 9,718 homes are in the “very high” risk category for storms in categories two to five. Rebuilding those homes would amount to $2.8 billion. An additional 11,029 are in the “high” category for storms in categories three to five, where rebuilding would cost $3.2 billion.

A total of 11,387 homes fell in the moderate category for storms in categories four and five, with rebuilding estimated at $3.2 billion.
CoreLogic said the Atlantic Coast has more than 3.8 million homes at risk of storm surge this year with an estimated rebuilding cost of $939 billion.

“It only takes one hurricane that pushes storm surge into a major metropolitan area for the damage to tally in the billions of dollars. With new home construction, and any amount of sea-level rise, the number of homes at risk of storm surge damage will continue to increase,” Tom Jeffery, senior hazard risk scientist for CoreLogic, said in a statement.

The District of Columbia had the lowest reconstruction costs at $351.4 million, followed by New Hampshire, $3.2 billion; Maine, $5.8 billion; Rhode Island, $7.5 billion; and Alabama, $10 billion. The District of Columbia again had the lowest number of properties at risk with 3,668; followed by New Hampshire, 12,409; Maine, 22,491; Rhode Island, 26,490; and Delaware, 49,716.

Florida had the highest reconstruction costs at $491.1 billion, as well as the highest number of properties at various risk levels with 2,509,812.

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1 COMMENT

  1. The Thames River Barrier in England and the Eastern Scheldt Storm Surge Barrier in the Netherlands have been preventing damaging storm surges for over 30 years. What good does it do to point out these costly damaging effects in Rhode Island if no ome is trying to do something to prevent them.?