Hurricane Helene Damage $85 to $110 Billion

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Hurricane Helene was the most destructive storm that hit the Panhandle area of Florida. It then caused more damage in Georgia and the southern Appalachian mountains. Early estimates show that the Category 4 hurricane caused between $85 and $100 billion in damages.

The estimate is very broad–

AccuWeather incorporates independent methods to evaluate all direct and indirect impacts of the storm, includes both insured and uninsured losses and is based on a variety of sources, statistics and unique techniques AccuWeather uses to estimate the damage. It includes damage to property, job and wage losses, crops, infrastructure damage, interruption of the supply chain, auxiliary business losses and flight delays. The estimate also accounts for the costs of evacuations, relocations, emergency management and the extraordinary government expenses for cleanup operations and the long-term effects on business logistics, transportation and tourism as well as the health effects and the medical and other expenses of unreported deaths and injuries. 

If the figure is accurate, Helene would be one of the most destructive storms in history, including the cost of Katrina when calculated in 2024 dollars.

Another factor that may be just as severe over time is a permanent drop in real estate prices and an increase in home insurance. According to Redfin, real estate has already started to fall in the Tampa area.

Home insurance rates have increased by double digits in areas along the Florida coast. And thousands of homeowners can no longer get home insurance at all. People cannot get home mortgages without home insurance.

The financial damage after Helene may be as great as just after it.