Total property damage from Katrina storm surge estimated

Property damage caused by water related to Hurricane Katrina will reach a total figure of approximately $44 billion, according to AIR Worldwide Corp. “Katrina resulted in an unprecedented level of water damage,” Dr. Jayanta Guin, vice president of research and modeling at AIR Worldwide, says. “While the flooding of New Orleans in the aftermath of the storm has garnered the most attention, we estimate that the devastating storm surge along the Gulf Coast, including southern Louisiana, was equally destructive.”AIR estimates that Katrina’s storm surge will result in an additional $21.4 billion of damage in Louisiana (excluding New Orleans), Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. Storm surge, which is the water forced ashore by a hurricane, is highest to the right side of the storm’s center. The force of the water can knock structures off their foundations, sometimes depositing them at considerable distance from their original locations. “We conducted this analysis because there is a great deal of uncertainty among insurers as to how much of the total water damage from Katrina they will ultimately have to cover,” Guin adds. A breakdown of AIR’s total estimated flood and surge losses reveals that storm surge losses are: US$22.6 billion in New Orleans; $16.2 billion in Louisiana; $4.4 billion in Mississippi; $793 million in Alabama; and, $32 million in Florida.