Wind damage from Hurricane Zeta drives loss estimates to $1.5–4.4B
Category 2 Zeta was the 11th named storm to hit the U.S., and the third hurricane to make landfall in Louisiana this season.
Insured loss estimates are in for October’s Hurricane Zeta, the fifth named storm and third hurricane to make landfall in Louisiana this season.
Hurricane Zeta made two separate landfalls last week. First, in the Yucatan Peninsula on October 24 as a Category 1 hurricane, and then in Louisiana on October 28 as a Category 2 hurricane impacting nine states across the South, with the highest losses in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Georgia.
Zeta hit Lousiana with 110 mph winds, just 1 mph shy of Category 3 status, before moving through Mississippi and Alabama, tearing through roofs and knocking out power for millions. Zeta also brought some storm surge to the region that worsened along the coastline.
Insured loss estimates for Zeta
One report from Karen Clark & Company (KCC) estimates that the insured loss to onshore properties from Zeta will be close to $4.4 billion, which includes $4.3 billion in wind and storm surge losses in the U.S. and $80 million in wind losses in Mexico.
AIR Worldwide put forth a less costly estimate, pricing insured losses from Zeta to range between $1.5 billion and $3.5 billion.
A third report from CoreLogic priced losses caused specifically by the most damaging part of the storm: wind.
CoreLogic estimates insured wind losses for residential and commercial properties in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama to range between $2.2 billion and $3.5 billion. Insured storm surge losses are estimated to add an additional $0.3 billion to $0.5 billion.
“With one month to go, this hurricane season has been incredibly destructive due to the consistent cadence of storms and their too-similar landfall paths. While southwestern Louisiana was largely spared from Hurricane Zeta, New Orleans fell directly in the storm’s quick-moving path,” Curtis McDonald, meteorologist and senior product manager of CoreLogic, said in a statement.
As power outages sustained days after Zeta’s impact, McDonald advocated, “The important thing right now is to restore power to the millions of homes in the southeastern states, continue damage repairs in previously impacted homes and prepare for what could be record-breaking hurricane activity in November.”
These estimates include the privately insured wind and storm surge damage to residential, commercial, and industrial properties and automobiles. They do not include NFIP losses or losses to offshore assets, nor any potential impacts on losses due to COVID-19.
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