More than 27,000 homes on the shorelines of Bridgeport, Norwalk and Stamford are at potential risk of damage from a hurricane storm surge with a total reconstruction cost value of more than $11.4 billion, according to a recent report by California-based real estate data analytics company CoreLogic.
“Of those homes, 2,460 are designated in the ”˜extreme”™ risk zone, meaning that they would be affected by all hurricane category levels,” says CoreLogic”™s 2016 Storm Surge Report.
The company estimates the cost of reconstructing the homes in extreme risk zones along major country metro areas area would be $1.1 billion alone.
Another 8,800-plus homes are designated in “very high surge risk” areas and could total an estimated $3.8 billion in reconstruction costs.
However, the report ranks the risk posed by hurricane storm surges to Connecticut significantly lower than any neighboring states.
Statewide, 67,602 homes in Connecticut are at risk of damage from a storm surge, with the majority in the high to extreme risk area with a potential reconstruction cost of $22.4 billion. The report ranks Connecticut 14th, well behind Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey, which rank 9th, 5th and 4th respectively.
New York State”™s 74,654 homes within extreme storm surge risk areas alone would generate more reconstruction costs ($27.1 billion) than all of the potential damage to Connecticut”™s at risk homes.
Nationwide the reports notes positive indicators that may suggest homeowners and developers might be getting the post-Hurricane Sandy message that the shoreline is a risky real estate investment.
“Using more granular-level data has given us an even clearer picture of which homes are at risk of storm surge damage,” said Tom Jeffery, senior hazard risk scientist for CoreLogic. “Despite the overall increases in risk, we were glad to see that the number and value of homes in the most extreme, and dangerous, category actually declined. It just goes to show the power of how advanced data can improve risk assessment at the property level.”
