Nearly one in five Houston-area homes along the Gulf Coast are at risk for flood damage this hurricane season, according to a new study.
CoreLogic (NYSE: CLGX) released its 2016 Storm Surge report on June 1. The Irvine, California-based property analytics firm found that 280,112 homes in the Houston metropolitan area are at risk of being damaged from a hurricane surge, or rising sea waters.
These coastal homes — valued at $51.9 billion, according to CoreLogic — represent about a fifth of the nearly 1.5 million single-family homes in the Houston region.
Of the 280,112 homes at risk for surge damage, about 42 percent — or 118,033 homes — are at an elevated (“high,” “very high” or “extreme”) risk of surge damage. The remainder of homes face “low” to “moderate” risk of flood damage, according to CoreLogic.
Nationally, 6.8 million homes worth $1.5 trillion, are at risk of surge damage from a hurricane this year. About half of the homes — 2.9 million homes worth $592 billion — are located in the Gulf Coast region, according to CoreLogic.
This year, there are more homes at risk of hurricane surge damage, according to CoreLogic. That’s because the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is predicting a greater likelihood of increased hurricane activity this year, compared to the past three years.
NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center predicts the U.S. could experience between four to eight hurricanes with winds of 74 miles per hour or higher, including one to four major hurricanes — Category 3, 4 or 5 with winds of 111 miles per hour or higher.
Texas, which faced a deluge of rainstorms over the past year, is at an increased risk for flood damage because of its long coastal region, according to CoreLogic. Houston, being on the Gulf Coast, faces the brunt of the threat.
Preliminary estimates from BBVA Compass economists pegged the total economic impact from the Tax Day floods between $1.3 billion and $1.9 billion, more than double the estimated economic impact from the floods during Memorial Day 2015.
