Hurricane Idalia Leaves Up To $20 Billion In Damage, Estimate Says–Well Below Ian

Forbes Business Breaking Hurricane Idalia Leaves Up To $20 Billion In Damage, Estimate Says–Well Below Ian Brian Bushard Forbes Staff I cover breaking news for Forbes Following Aug 31, 2023, 04:41pm EDT | Press play to listen to this article! Got it! Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Topline Hurricane Idalia, which swept through Florida and Georgia on Wednesday after making landfall as a Category 3 major hurricane, caused up to $20 billion in damage, according to estimates from Moody’s Analytics, making it the most destructive hurricane so far this year, though that’s just a fraction of the damage caused by Hurricane Ian last September. Flooding in Tarpon Springs, Florida, from Hurricane Idalia. Getty Images Key Facts Hurricane Idalia, which has since been downgraded to a tropical storm after sweeping through Florida and Georgia, caused between $12 billion and $20 billion in damage, according to an initial estimate from Moody’s.

The damage was not only along Florida’s Gulf Coast, but scattered over a “multi-state area” that felt “significant but not catastrophic damage,” according to Moody’s director of regional economics Adam Kamins. Moody’s estimate comes well below the estimated $112. 9 billion in damage from Hurricane Ian, which took a remarkably similar path to Idalia, though it made landfall just south of Tampa in a more densely populated area than Florida’s Big Bend.

Idalia caused widespread flooding along the Florida Gulf Coast on Wednesday, damaging thousands of buildings in multiple counties—including the Florida governor’s mansion—and killing at least two people, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. What To Watch For President Joe Biden on Thursday said he plans to visit Florida Saturday morning, after declaring a major disaster in the state in the wake of Hurricane Idalia. News Peg Since making landfall in Florida’s Big Bend Region, Idalia has steadily weakened into a tropical storm, with maximum sustained winds of 65 mph, according to a Thursday afternoon update from the National Hurricane Center .

As of 2 p. m. , Idalia is sitting east of North Carolina, moving on an eastward track toward Bermuda, which is also feeling the effects of Hurricane Franklin, a Category 2 storm northeast of the island.

What We Don’t Know Whether the hurricane season will take a turn for the worse. Forecasters with Colorado State University earlier this month updated their 2023 Atlantic hurricane prediction, warning there could be as many as 18 named tropical storms and hurricanes this season, including nine hurricanes and four major ones (Category 3 or higher)—above the 14. 4 named storms observed, on average, over the past 30 years.

So far this season, there have been 10 named storms, including three hurricanes. The National Hurricane Center is currently tracking five storms, including Idalia and Franklin, as well as Tropical Storm Jose—east of Bermuda—and two other developments that have a chance of intensifying into named storms. Further Reading Tropical Storm Idalia Reaches South Carolina After Barreling Through Florida And Georgia (Forbes) Tropical Storm Idalia Reaches South Carolina After Barreling Through Florida And Georgia (Forbes) Send me a secure tip .

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