Providence area vulnerable to $8B in storm surge damage

MORE THAN $8 billion worth of property in the Providence-Fall River-New Bedford area is vulnerable to damage from a hurricane-driven storm surge, CoreLogic said Thursday.  For a larger version of this chart, click <a href=HERE / COURTESY CORELOGIC" title="MORE THAN $8 billion worth of property in the Providence-Fall River-New Bedford area is vulnerable to damage from a hurricane-driven storm surge, CoreLogic said Thursday. For a larger version of this chart, click HERE / COURTESY CORELOGIC"/>
MORE THAN $8 billion worth of property in the Providence-Fall River-New Bedford area is vulnerable to damage from a hurricane-driven storm surge, CoreLogic said Thursday. For a larger version of this chart, click HERE / COURTESY CORELOGIC

PROVIDENCE – More than $8 billion worth of property in the Providence-Fall River-New Bedford area is vulnerable to damage from a hurricane-driven storm surge, CoreLogic said Thursday.

Out of all metropolitan areas in the United States, Providence ranks 21st in total dollar value at risk of storm-surge loss, the California-based real estate data firm said.

New York City leads the way with $168 billion worth of vulnerable property and Boston is sixth at $23 billion.

In all, 31,512 properties in the Providence area were deemed vulnerable to flooding from a tropical cyclone.

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Based on value, Narragansett has the most at risk with $930 million worth of property.

Surprisingly, Barrington is second on the list with $869 million in potential losses and actually ranks first in the number of properties at risk with 3,062 to Narragansett’s 3,028.

The other most vulnerable communities were:

  • Fairhaven: $565 million
  • Westerly: $475 million
  • Newport: $468 million
  • The Riverside section of East Providence: $437 million
  • The Wakefield section of South Kingstown: $410 million
  • Swansea: $356 million
  • Charlestown: $351 million
  • Portsmouth: $324 million

    Of the total Providence area properties deemed vulnerable, CoreLogic considered 6,887 of them extreme storm surge risks, the most severe out of five categories.

    Nationwide, 3.6 million properties worth $650 billion are vulnerable to storm surges.

    “Though more frequently-impacted states like Florida, Texas and Louisiana get the most attention when it comes to hurricane vulnerability and destruction, Hurricane Irene made it very clear last summer that hurricane risk is not confined to the southern parts of the country,” Howard Botts, vice president and director of database development for CoreLogic Spatial Solutions said in prepared remarks.

    In addition to Providence, the Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk area in Connecticut was ranked 16th in storm-surge vulnerability and New London-Norwich, Conn. was ranked 40th.

    For the full report, visit CoreLogic.com.

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