Hurricane Ian Threatens to Trigger $120 Billion in Damages

The widespread harm brought on by Hurricane Ian may end in as much as $120 billion in damages and financial losses, in response to a brand new report.

In a press launch obtained by Newsweek, AccuWeather Founder and CEO Dr. Joel N. Myers mentioned that Hurricane Ian’s widespread harm, brought on by “life-threatening storm surge, damaging winds, and flooding rains,” may end in $100 billion and $120 billion in damages and financial losses for Florida and a few surrounding states.

“Ian will go down as one of the vital damaging and impactful storms in U.S. historical past, together with 2017’s Hurricanes Harvey, which brought on $190 billion in complete harm and financial loss, and Irma ($80 billion); Sandy in 2012 ($210 billion); Katrina in 2005, ($320 billion), as adjusted for inflation,” AccuWeather mentioned within the press launch.

The report from AccuWeather comes shortly after Hurricane Ian, a Class 4 storm, made landfall in Florida, prompting evacuations and leading to storm surge flooding in quite a few elements of the state.

“The most recent #Day1 outlook from @NWSWPC highlights excessive danger of extreme rainfall throughout a big portion of the central Florida peninsula from #Ian,” the Nationwide Hurricane Middle mentioned in a tweet on Wednesday morning. “Widespread, life-threatening catastrophic flooding is predicted throughout this portion of Florida.”

The Nationwide Hurricane Middle additionally warned of storm surge flooding reaching 12 to 18 toes above sea stage because the storm handed over Florida.

Based on AccuWeather, the estimated prices related to Hurricane Ian consists of damages to residential and industrial properties, in addition to “vital flight delays” and the closures of colleges, airports and different sights, akin to Florida’s theme parks.

Jonathan Porter, a chief meteorologist with AccuWeather instructed Newsweek that prices related to hurricane harm “is all the time associated to the depth of the storm, its impacts after which the place it strikes.”

“Location could be very key to that. If it is in a extra rural space the place it isn’t as constructed up that is one factor, versus one other space the place there’s numerous individuals, numerous infrastructure, numerous companies, numerous houses,” Porter mentioned. “And sadly, the place this struck…in a closely populated space, Naples, Fort Meyers, Port Charlotte…a few of these locations the place there’s many buildings, many companies, many houses, many individuals, numerous infrastructure.”

Based on the press launch, AccuWeather primarily based its estimate on “an evaluation incorporating unbiased strategies to judge all direct and oblique impacts of the storm, consists of each insured and uninsured losses, and is predicated on quite a lot of sources, statistics, and distinctive methods AccuWeather makes use of to estimate the harm.”

Following the estimated value of the damages related to Ian, Meyers mentioned that it “largely accounts for harm to houses, companies, medical amenities, roadways and automobiles in addition to energy outages, which ends up in meals spoilage and interruption to medical care.”

On Thursday morning, the Nationwide Hurricane Middle downgraded Ian to a tropical storm; nevertheless, it’s anticipated to carry heavy rainfall to different states, together with Georgia and the Carolinas.

Porter instructed Newsweek that the AccuWeather estimate can also be primarily based on the storm’s potential harm in these different states.

Newsweek reached out to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s workplace for remark.