Henri damage to cost insurers $155m, says KCC
Insured losses from Hurricane Henri will be close to $155 million, according to catastrophe modelling firm Karen Clark & Company (KCC). The estimate includes the privately insured damage to residential, commercial, and industrial properties and automobiles.
The losses predicted by the company’s high resolution Hurricane Reference Model will come despite Henri being downgraded to a tropical storm before landfall. The day before, on August 21, Henri became a category 1 hurricane off the US coast – the third hurricane of the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season.
Initially expected to make landfall across or near Long Island at that strength, it finally hit Rhode Island at midday on August 22 with sustained wind speeds of 60mph. It continued to weaken as it moved central Connecticut and into New York.
The decrease in intensity prevented much of the damage anticipated from Henri. Much of the wind damage that did occur was due to downed trees and powerlines. More than 100,000 customers lost power as a result of the storm.
The storm’s relatively slow forward speed did, however, bring heavy rain to the north-eastern US from northern New Jersey to southern New England. More than nine inches fell in Brooklyn, New York and Middlesex County, New Jersey, overwhelming drainage systems and waterways. Flooding of homes, businesses and roadways occurred across several New Jersey counties.
KKC’s estimate compares with a figure of up to $500m for losses from wind, rain and surge damage given by modellers at Enki Research earlier this week.
