Housing

Philadelphia Among Cities Where Hurricanes Would Cause Most Damage

Douglas A. McIntyre

Published: July 24, 2016 10:05 am

Last Updated: January 13, 2020 5:22 am

Philadelphia is far north enough that it would not seem to be at much risk for hurricane damage. However, it makes the list of the “Cities Where Hurricanes Would Cause the Most Damage” written by 24/7 Wall St.

The story says

“If the nearly 7 million homes along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts were to be destroyed by hurricanes, reconstruction would cost an estimated $1.55 trillion. Miami, Florida, with 780,482 at-risk homes, leads the nation as the city in danger of the greatest damage from a hurricane.

24/7 Wall St. reviewed the number of homes at risk and the estimated construction costs for U.S. metro areas along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts from real estate data tracking company CoreLogic. The 15 cities vulnerable to the greatest damage are listed in order by the number of homes at risk of destruction from storm surge — the abnormal rises in sea level due to storms.

To identify the 15 cities at risk of the greatest storm damage, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the number of homes potentially at risk of being damaged by hurricanes in the 88 U.S. metro areas along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts from property information company CoreLogic. The estimated rebuilding costs in the event of a total loss in each city also came from CoreLogic. Death tolls and damage estimates for past hurricanes came from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.”

As for Philadelphia, it ranks 11th on the list

Total properties at risk of hurricane damage: 165,940
> Cost of reconstruction: $31.9 billion
> Population: 6,069,875
> Last serious hurricane: Sandy

Philadelphia is located on the East Coast roughly 60 miles from the ocean. The further north along the Atlantic coast a city is located, the less likely it is to be affected by a hurricane. However, all areas along the coast are vulnerable to some degree to catastrophic storms, and it is very difficult to predict where a hurricane will strike. Hurricane Sandy devastated cities along the northern Atlantic shoreline. While Philadelphia escaped the brunt of the storm, Sandy knocked out power for about a million area residents.