21 Florida Cities at Risk of Wind Damage From Hurricane Irma

By John Harrington Updated Jan 12, 8:22AM EST · Published Sep 8, 5:09PM EDT

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21 Florida Cities at Risk of Wind Damage From Hurricane Irma — © forestpath / Shutterstock.com

[cnxvideo id=”655354″ placement=”ros”]Nearly 8.5 million properties in Florida are at risk of wind damage from Hurricane Irma, according to CoreLogic, a provider of property information and data, in a report published Friday. CoreLogic said an estimated 8,456,455 residential and commercial properties in Florida are at either “extreme,” “very high” or “high” risk of wind damage from the storm, which is on a path to hit the state Saturday.

The Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach metropolitan area, the most populous region in Florida, has 2,202,404 properties that are at risk from wind damage from Irma. The Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater area has 1,227,461 properties at risk. Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford was third with 907,350 properties.

Irma, which has already cut a destructive swath through the northern Caribbean, sustained 185-mph winds for 37 hours at one point, the longest period ever for a hurricane.

AccuWeather reports that the track of Irma will bring the most severe impact to the eastern side of Florida, including Miami, West Palm Beach, Melbourne, Daytona Beach and Jacksonville. However, with the forecast track showing Irma moving up the Florida peninsula, hurricane-force winds will reach western parts of the state as well, including Tampa, Fort Myers and Sarasota.

Click here to see the 21 cities at significant risk of wind damage from Hurricane Irma.

To identify the 21 cities at significant risk of wind damage from Hurricane Irma, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed data for core-based statistical areas (CBSAs) obtained from CoreLogic. The property information site reviewed characteristics of single-family residential structures of fewer than four stories, including mobile homes, duplexes, manufactured homes and cabins, among other non-traditional home types, as well as commercial properties to estimate the number of properties at extreme, very high, and high risk of wind damage from Hurricane Irma. The number of properties at risk of storm surge damage also came from CoreLogic. This does not suggest that there will be no damage to residential units greater than four stories, as there may be associated wind or debris damage.

Median home value and population in each area came from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2015 American Community Survey and are 5 year averages. Due to data limitations, home values and population figures for the Palm Coast CBSA are from the 2012 American Community Survey.

21. Gainesville
> Properties at significant risk of wind damage: 9,031
> Properties at significant risk of storm surge damage: 508
> Median home value: $159,400
> Population: 271,210

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20. Tallahassee
> Properties at significant risk of wind damage: 52,946
> Properties at significant risk of storm surge damage: 12,834
> Median home value: $164,700
> Population: 374,690

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19. Key West
> Properties at significant risk of wind damage: 55,523
> Properties at significant risk of storm surge damage: 39,967
> Median home value: $386,400
> Population: 75,901

18. Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin
> Properties at significant risk of wind damage: 68,530
> Properties at significant risk of storm surge damage: 18,528
> Median home value: $182,800
> Population: 251,724

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17. Palm Coast
> Properties at significant risk of wind damage: 71,591
> Properties at significant risk of storm surge damage: 16,619
> Median home value: $180,300
> Population: 95,987

16. Sebastian-Vero Beach
> Properties at significant risk of wind damage: 89,655
> Properties at significant risk of storm surge damage: 19,558
> Median home value: $157,800
> Population: 142,866

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15. Panama City-Lynn Haven-Panama City Beach
> Properties at significant risk of wind damage: 111,056
> Properties at significant risk of storm surge damage: 19,969
> Median home value: $156,800
> Population: 191,138

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14. Ocala
> Properties at significant risk of wind damage: 160,186
> Properties at significant risk of storm surge damage: 6
> Median home value: $111,000
> Population: 336,811

13. Jacksonville
> Properties at significant risk of wind damage: 188,069
> Properties at significant risk of storm surge damage: 110,450
> Median home value: $158,100
> Population: 1,401,600

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12. Punta Gorda
> Properties at significant risk of wind damage: 205,617
> Properties at significant risk of storm surge damage: 180,289
> Median home value: $145,700
> Population: 165,783

11. Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent
> Properties at significant risk of wind damage: 216,719
> Properties at significant risk of storm surge damage: 24,783
> Median home value: $135,400
> Population: 467,348

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10. Naples-Marco Island
> Properties at significant risk of wind damage: 218,178
> Properties at significant risk of storm surge damage: 203,673
> Median home value: $272,800
> Population: 341,091

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9. Port St. Lucie
> Properties at significant risk of wind damage: 234,684
> Properties at significant risk of storm surge damage: 29,825
> Median home value: $145,000
> Population: 439,592

8. Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach
> Properties at significant risk of wind damage: 260,368
> Properties at significant risk of storm surge damage: 56,875
> Median home value: $138,900
> Population: 604,502

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7. Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville
> Properties at significant risk of wind damage: 283,298
> Properties at significant risk of storm surge damage: 59,489
> Median home value: $142,200
> Population: 553,591

6. Lakeland-Winter Haven
> Properties at significant risk of wind damage: 320,100
> Properties at significant risk of storm surge damage: 0
> Median home value: $107,300
> Population: 626,676

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5. North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota
> Properties at significant risk of wind damage: 442,689
> Properties at significant risk of storm surge damage: 174,453
> Median home value: $175,100
> Population: 735,767

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4. Cape Coral-Fort Myers
> Properties at significant risk of wind damage: 522,445
> Properties at significant risk of storm surge damage: 375,065
> Median home value: $157,400
> Population: 663,675

3. Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford
> Properties at significant risk of wind damage: 907,350
> Properties at significant risk of storm surge damage: 0
> Median home value: $157,900
> Population: 2,277,816

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2. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater
> Properties at significant risk of wind damage: 1,227,461
> Properties at significant risk of storm surge damage: 345,450
> Median home value: $144,600
> Population: 2,888,458

1. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach
> Properties at significant risk of wind damage: 2,202,404
> Properties at significant risk of storm surge damage: 440,881
> Median home value: $197,900
> Population: 5,861,000

About the Author John Harrington →

I'm a journalist who started my career as a sportswriter, covering professional, college, and high school sports. I pivoted into business news, working for the biggest newspapers in New Jersey, including The Record, Star-Ledger and Asbury Park Press. I was an editor at the weekly publication Crain’s New York Business and served on several editorial teams at Bloomberg News. I’ve been a part of 24/7 Wall St. since 2017, writing about politics, history, sports, health, the environment, finance, culture, breaking news, and current events. I'm a graduate of Rutgers University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History.