Ida flood damage could cost Northeast up to $24 billion

After causing over $20 billion in property damage along the Gulf Coast, Ida, downgraded to a tropical storm from a Category 4 hurricane, brought an additional $16 billion to $24 billion in estimated flood losses to 11 states and the District of Columbia, according to CoreLogic.

Weathering approximately 26% of the damages, Pennsylvania incurred between $4.16 billion and $6.24 billion in losses. New York’s estimated losses range from $3.04 billion to $4.56 billion, New Jersey’s go from $2.56 billion to $3.84 billion, Connecticut’s come next at $2.4 billion and $3.6 billion, while Massachusetts rounds out the top five at $2.24 billion and $3.36 billion.

The remaining 10% of loss is scattered across Delaware, Maryland, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington, D.C. Because these states occupy such small shares of the damage, more granular details couldn’t be provided, according to a CoreLogic spokesperson.

“Given the prevalence of multifamily housing and below-ground structures in these areas, we’ll see more extreme interior content damages than we typically see in southern coastal areas,” Shelly Yerkes, senior leader, insurance solutions at CoreLogic, said in the report. “For example, many of the heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems in New York City buildings are in the basements, so contents damage should be substantial.”

Overall, projections show commercial properties account for anywhere between $10 billion and $15 billion in flood loss with $3 billion to $5 billion being insured. Meanwhile, residential buildings have between $6 billion and $9 billion in potential loss, with $2 billion to $3 billion of it insured.

Tropical Storm Ida dumped up to nine inches of rain in a three-hour window around the New York metro area, leading to flash flooding and overwhelmed drainage systems. However, infrastructure repairs made following Superstorm Sandy in 2012 limited the damage that could have been done, said David Smith, CoreLogic’s senior leader of science and analytics.