Southeast losses from Hurricane Idalia estimated at $18B to $20B

The total damage and economic loss from Hurricane Idalia in the Southeast could total between $18 billion and $20 billion, according to AccuWeather.

The Category 3 hurricane came ashore in the Big Bend area of Florida on Wednesday with winds of up to 125 miles per hour and brought record storm surge to some parts of the state’s Gulf Coast.

Coastal flooding and surge levels where the storm moved inland rivaled those of Hurricane Ian, which devastated Fort Myers last year, AccuWeather said.

AccuWeather’s damage estimates use methods to evaluate direct and indirect impacts of the storm and include both insured and uninsured losses. These numbers take into account the cost of evacuations, relocations, emergency management and the government expenses for cleanup operations.

The estimates also include the long-term effect on business logistics, transportation, tourism as well as the tail health effects and the medical and other expenses of yet unreported deaths and injuries.

“Assessing the damage from Idalia, we see tremendous flooding in the Big Bend region along with many trees and power lines down,” said Jonathan Porter, AccuWeather’s chief meteorologist. “It will take weeks for some parts of Florida to get power back after this devastating storm.”

Two deaths were reported related to the storm as of Thursday morning.

Gov. Ron DeSantis had declared a state of emergency well ahead of Idalia’s landfall. The NOAA had predicted a more active hurricane season this year.

At a press conference Wednesday, DeSantis said all state bridges in the impacted areas had been cleared by FDOT, including Cedar Key Bridge, to allow first responders, law enforcement, utility linemen and supplies to come onto the island, which took the brunt of Idalia’s wrath. 

Porter noted the storm’s impact was also felt across most of the Southeast.

“Hundreds of flights were cancelled this week in the Southeast, that had a domino effect on flight cancellations and delays throughout the nation,” he said.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper declared emergencies in their states ahead of the hurricane’s landfall. 

As of Thursday, Tampa Airport had resumed normal operations as had Atlanta-Hartsfield.

President Joe Biden signed an emergency declaration for Florida, which will let the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Department of Homeland Security work with the state to coordinate their relief efforts.

Bloomberg News reported that Idalia steered clear of most oil and natural gas platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. But fuel markets were closed as terminals were shut down in Tampa, Jacksonville and Savannah.

Bloomberg News

The Environmental Protection Agency waived summertime gasoline volatility requirements in Florida in an attempt to boost fuel supply and keep prices low. The waiver allows sales of fuel with higher volatility through Sept. 15, Bloomberg reported. 

Idalia was the second major storm to hit Florida in the last two years.

In 2022, Hurricane Ian hit a more densely populated area and caused total damage and economic loss of $180 billion to $210 billion to the region. In 2018, Hurricane Michael hit parts of the panhandle, a slightly more populated area than Idalia hit, with total damage and economic loss of about $30 billion, according to AccuWeather.

Porter said he was concerned about some longer term economic fallout from the storm.

“With the insurance industry in Florida still reeling from major storms like Ian in recent years and some companies even pulling out from offering insurance in the state, premiums are becoming unaffordable for many Floridians and this latest damage from Idalia might exacerbate the problem,” he said.

In July, the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association tapped the municipal bond market, selling almost $600 million of tax-exempt fixed- and variable-rate bonds to help fund claims from insolvent insurance companies in the state.

The storm was not expected to significantly impact corporate catastrophe bonds, according to a report in Artemis.bm.com. Specialist asset manager Plenum Investments told Artemis.bm ahead of the storm that it expected losses look to be marginal.

The Florida Disaster Fund to support communities impacted by Idalia was activated Tuesday and has raised more than $1 million. To donate, click here.