CoreLogic Says 33M Homes at Risk in 2023 Hurricane Season

(Hurricane Ida, 2021. Stock Photo)

CoreLogic, Irvine, Calif., reported 33 million U.S. properties are at risk of hurricane-force wind damage, with reconstruction cost value of $11.6 trillion, as the 2023 hurricane season kicks off.

CoreLogic identified more than 32 million single-family residences and one million multifamily residences that are at moderate or higher risk of sustaining damage from hurricane-force winds in its 2023 Hurricane Risk Report. About 7.8 million homes have direct or indirect coastal exposure that could make them susceptible to storm surge flooding, with a combined RCV of $2.6 trillion.

CoreLogic also calculated the risks in metro areas on the Gulf and Atlantic coasts.

More than 4.3 million properties in the New York City metro area are at risk of hurricane-force winds. Houston-Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas, and Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, Fla., also are at significant risk.

CoreLogic noted the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 2023 hurricane forecast called for 12-17 named storms, 5-9 hurricanes and 1-4 major hurricanes, with a 30% chance of 2023 being an above-normal season.

The first named storm of the season–Tropical Storm Arlene–recently formed in the Gulf of Mexico.

Looking forward, CoreLogic warns of changes to hurricane damage wrought by climate change.

“Research suggests that, by the year 2050, more powerful storms, a rise in sea level and warmer atmospheric temperatures will give hurricanes a greater capacity to hold more moisture. Simultaneously, warmer sea surface temperatures give storms the fuel to penetrate further inland to locations previously shielded from consequential damage,” the report said.

CoreLogic said the biggest increase in risk is to counties furthest from the coast, which may come under more peril as storms travel further inland.