Florence Damages Top Floyd, Matthew COMBINED

EASTERN NC – We knew it was a doozy, and some in Eastern North Carolina are likely still dizzy, but now the N.C. Department of Insurance is confirming the historic nature of Hurricane Florence as it calculates damages of nearly $17 billion and climbing – more than Hurricanes Floyd and Matthew combined.

From Raleigh News & Observer:

The state now estimates that Hurricane Florence did nearly $17 billion in damage to homes, businesses, farms and governments in North Carolina, and that as much as half of that may not be covered by private insurance or government aid.

The state had initially estimated $13 billion in damages as a result of the storm, which made landfall the morning of Sept. 14 and dumped record amounts of rain during a six-day slog across the state. The updated estimates, made late last week, are based more on actual inspections and still may be revised upward.

The latest estimates from the state Department of Insurance mean that the physical and economic harm caused by Hurricane Florence has outstripped the combined damages of two previous storms, hurricanes Matthew and Floyd. Matthew did an estimated $4.8 billion in damage in 2016, while Floyd, which caused similar flooding in Eastern North Carolina in 1999, did between $7 billion and $9.4 billion, when adjusted for inflation, according to Gov. Roy Cooper.

[…]

▪ Businesses: More than 3,800 private businesses and nonprofit properties suffered water damage; more than 23,000 had wind damage. Including lost business, the total costs come to an estimated $5.7 billion.

▪ Housing: About 1.2 million households were affected by the storm. Damage to buildings and belongings and other expenses, including temporary housing, comes to an estimated $5.6 billion.

▪ Agriculture: Crop and livestock losses and damaged farm buildings and equipment come to an estimated $2.4 billion.

How much does the State expect to receive in federal aid? Who is eligible for aid? Find out more here.

Also, as we enter the holiday season, make sure to keep the people and communities of Eastern NC on your list. Obviously giving directly to friends and family affected by the storm is the most efficient, but if you want to help the larger effort trusted charities can be found here. Every little bit helps, and the more people help each other out of their own volition, the less chance the government has to muck things up.