Economy

Hurricane Florence Could Have $15 Billion Price Tag

Douglas A. McIntyre

Published: September 16, 2018 8:36 am

Last Updated: January 11, 2020 5:51 pm

Before Hurricane Florence made landfall, there were estimates that it could cause over $100 billion in damage, which would make it among the most costly hurricanes in history. It was a Category 4 hurricane when these estimates reached their peaks. As the storm came ashore, it was quickly downgraded to Category 1. Despite epic rainfall, damage estimates have dropped to $15 billion.

Research firm Enki Research experts reported:

Damage is likely to total over $ 10 Billion dollars for the “hurricane” part of the storm. The inland flooding is another story. It could easily add another $5 to $10 Billion, depending on what floods and how bad.

The floods are not nearly over in the areas near where the storm hit the North Carolina coast. Some areas in the region have had two feet of rain and could get another foot or more. However, within a day or two, the storm is expected to march inland toward Kentucky and then swing east toward the New York area. By the time it reaches several hundreds miles inland, the amount of damage the remnants of Florence will do should drop sharply.

As the storm exits the U.S., probably off the coast somewhere in the Northeast, it will have done damage across the east central part of the country. But, most of the damage causing wind and rain will have ended by Tuesday, and the forecasts of a $100 billion storm will be long gone.