Houston windstorm damages could reach $7 billion

Powerful windstorms battered Houston late last week, causing at least seven deaths, flipping trucks on highways, bringing down trees and power lines and blowing out windows on high-rise buildings, according to AccuWeather, which estimates that damages are in the $5 billion-$7 billion.

More than 226,000 Texas homes and businesses were still without power on the morning of May 20, 2024, according to Poweroutage.us.

“Downtown Houston has not seen wind damage like this since Hurricane Ike in 2008 and Hurricane Alicia in 1983,” AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter said in a release. “This windstorm will go down in the history books as one of the most damaging storms in modern Houston history that was not caused by a hurricane.”

For comparison, 2022’s Hurricane Nicole caused a similar $5 billion-$7 billion in damages in Florida, AccuWeather reported. Tropical Storm Hilary caused $7 billion-$9 billion in damages and economic losses.

Houston’s population density helped to drive up the damage estimates. The intense windstorm lasted one hour and 30 minutes, but left as much damage as a Category 1 hurricane “impacting much of Florida,” according to AccuWeather.

“Though this windstorm was completely different from a meteorological perspective than a hurricane, people in the Houston area may have felt like they experienced a brief ‘mini-hurricane’ since the damage looks similar to that which might be experienced from the wind impacts of a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale,” Porter said.

AccuWeather reported that thousands of businesses will face long-lasting effects from the storm due to extensive damage to vehicles, equipment, offices and warehouses. Additionally, extended power outages have resulted in the loss of perishable goods.

The windstorm is the latest in a string of extreme weather to hit the Lone Star State in recent weeks as Houston already faced severe flooding earlier this month, while the Texas Panhandle saw record-breaking wildfires.

The latest storms come two weeks prior to the official start of hurricane season, according to Porter, who said the violent windstorm should be a reminder for everyone along the Gulf Coast.

The estimates include insured and uninsured losses to property, job and wage losses, crops, infrastructure damage, interruption of the supply chain, auxiliary business losses and flight delays or cancellations. The projection also accounts for costs related to evacuations, relocations, emergency management and cleanup operations. AccuWeather also factored in long-term effects on businesses, transportation, tourism and the other expenses from unreported deaths and injuries.

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