Hurricane Sally insured loss estimates top $2 billion
Category 2 Sally hit coastal communities in Alabama and Florida last week with heavy rainfall and a storm surge of 6-7 feet.
Insured loss estimates are in for Hurricane Sally.
Sally made landfall early in the morning on September 16 near Orange Beach, Alabama, packing maximum sustained winds of 105 mph.
Category 2 Sally began to degrade as soon as it moved inland toward the western Florida Panhandle, and maximum sustained wind speeds dropped to 80–100 mph. Sally hit the coastal communities of Baldwin County, Alabama, and Escambia County, Florida, with heavy rain and storm surge of around 6-7 feet. Rainfall totals reached 30 inches in Orange Beach, Alabama, and 24.8 inches in downtown Pensacola.
Insured loss estimates
A new report from Karen Clark & Company (KCC) evaluated the impact of Sally, noting the storm was the first hurricane to make landfall in Alabama since 2004’s Ivan, which occurred 16 years earlier to the day.
Based on the KCC high-resolution U.S. Hurricane Reference Model, KCC estimates that the insured loss to onshore properties from Hurricane Sally will be around $2 billion.
A second report from catastrophe risk modeling firm AIR Worldwide estimates that industry insured losses to onshore property resulting from Hurricane Sally’s winds, storm surge, and inland flood will range from $1–3 billion.
KCC’s and AIR’s estimates include the privately insured wind and storm surge damage to residential, commercial, and industrial properties and automobiles, KCC notes. It does not include NFIP losses, losses to offshore assets, or any potential impacts on losses due to COVID-19.
Sally’s impact on Alabama’s shores
Severe wind damage from Hurricane Sally was limited to areas near the coast that experienced the highest wind speeds. Isolated instances of structural damage occurred, KCC reports, including damage to roofs and walls. Lower levels of damage, including to roof coverings and sidings, were more widespread, KCC says.
According to KCC’s report, over 500,000 residents were left without power as severe winds brought down power lines in parts of Florida and Alabama.
Heavy storm surge flooding impacted coastal Alabama and Pensacola, where water submerged residential and commercial buildings in Gulf Shores and deposited numerous boats and vehicles around Orange Beach. Multiple bridges in both cities were damaged as well, and a portion of the newly constructed Pensacola Bay Bridge was destroyed.
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