An analysis by real estate data firm CoreLogic suggests that as many as 284,000 homes worth more than $87 billion across the East Coast could be at risk of damage from flooding due to Hurricane Sandy.
In Massachusetts, the analysis suggests 21,770 Bay State homes worth $7.8 billion could be under threat, including 10,491 in the Boston metro area. The worst-afflicted state is likely to be New York, with 81,078 properties worth $35.1 billion under threat.
"This is a large, slow-moving, persistent and dangerous storm. Its impacts are going to be far-reaching and no doubt very costly. Sandy could pose an enormous threat to major metropolitan areas in the Northeast, from Virginia Beach and Washington, D.C. to New York City and Boston," said Howard Botts, vice president and director of database development for CoreLogic Spatial Solutions, in a statement.
According to Core Logic’s calculations, the number and value of homes under threat by state are:
- Massachusetts 21,770 $7,761,235,023
- Pennsylvania 246 $24,131,496
- New York 81,078 $35,128,036,406
- New Jersey 75,314 $22,601,229,263
- Delaware 8,894 $2,069,493,600
- Maryland 30,131 $8,983,837,253
- Virginia 66,544 $11,311,646,410
Hurricane-driven storm-surge flooding can cause significant property damage when high winds and low pressure causes water to amass inside the storm, releasing a powerful rush over land when the hurricane moves on shore. The CoreLogic analysis measures damage from storm surge and does not include potential damage from wind and rain associated with hurricanes.
