Ike Damage Estimate Raised

[wxman57]

I attended a presentation at the NHC this afternoon. In it, the damage estimate for Ike was listed as $28.1 Billion, considerably higher than the $19.3 Billion in the NHC final report. And the presenter said that some newer estimates put the damage even higher, perhaps $29 Billion, but that's not confirmed yet.

[srainhoutx]

I attended a presentation at the NHC this afternoon. In it, the damage estimate for Ike was listed as $28.1 Billion, considerably higher than the $19.3 Billion in the NHC final report. And the presenter said that some newer estimates put the damage even higher, perhaps $29 Billion, but that's not confirmed yet.

I am not surprised. The amount of insurance repairs that are still coming is amazing in my area.

[hurricanetrack]

Ike is somewhat of a forgotten hurricane in my book. It did so much damage over such a large area and yet it very quickly faded from the national media scene. I am glad wxman57 posted that information about Ike's damage estimates. For anyone who has visited the region in the wake of Ike, you will see- it is very "Katrina-esque" in many respects. Any word on the death toll finals yet? That was somewhat of a mystery for a while after the hurricane.

[Derek Ortt]

does that 28.1 billion include the damage inland? For reasons I cannot figure out, those were not included in the official damage toll. had that have been included, as I believe it should, Ike would have been ahead of Wilma at 23 billion before the increase

[gatorcane]

Ike did quickly lose media interest. But if you look at this hurricane it was something very unique. First, its path nearly due west for thousands of miles from Africa at that north of lattitude all the way to the Western GOM was really once in a lifetime. How many of us thought it was going to recurve before Florida?

Not only that, but it wreaked serious havoc on Cuba but of course, that is forgotten quickly in the United States. Had Ike crossed Southern Florida just about 100 miles north of lattitude, it certainly would have been a different story media-wise.

As far as I am concerned, Ike was simply a monster of a hurricane and should go down as one of the more formidable hurricanes ever in Atlantic history. Here in South Florida, I will always remember that this was one of those monsters like Floyd that we go very lucky not having any major impact when there were times nearly every reliable model in the 5-day range had it aiming somewhere between Miami and West Palm Beach.

[Ptarmigan]

I feel like Ike did not get all the media coverage it deserved. I think it is forgotten. Well, it did come during the financial crisis that was brewing that time.

[HurricaneBill]

does that 28.1 billion include the damage inland? For reasons I cannot figure out, those were not included in the official damage toll. had that have been included, as I believe it should, Ike would have been ahead of Wilma at 23 billion before the increase

They may have excluded inland damage because Ike became extratropical. That's why they didn't include the inland deaths in Ike's death toll.

[HurricaneBill]

Gustav was forgotten quicker than Ike. Once the ,edia realized New Orleans was spared, they were like "oh, nevermind".

[Ed Mahmoud]

Still a few blue FEMA tarps on neighborhood houses well inland here in Sablechase area between Veterans Memorial and Walters, just South of FM 1960. Seven months after the storm.


Plenty of commercials for lawyers to sue insurance companies as well.

[tolakram]

We still have damage from Ike (via the front he merged with) up here in Cincinnati. CVG still hasn't permanently repaired the Delta hanger roof that was ripped off when the 75mph winds came through.

I think it's simply a case of damage fatigue and denial that we can be so vulnerable to these weather systems.

[jinftl]

A trend in recent years....post-2004 & 2005 seasons..is that on the major news networks like CNN and MSNBC (not sure I would include Fox news with Geraldo on the Galveston sea wall reading his anenometer in km/hour in that group!) will go all-out leading up to and during the storm in terms of coverage. Pretty much continuous coverage because let's face it, reporters braving the elements makes for great t.v.

Once the storm moves onshore...and especially if the 'worst case scenario' is declared as to not have happened, the coverage quickly dwindles to a few minutes each hour for about a week or so after the storm. Then there may be a post-storm follow-up report a few weeks later. Live-action stories...and this includes a new-found love of reporting hurricanes...get ratings. Follow-up stories are grim, bleak, and have no 'action'. For right or for wrong, they fall off the map on the national news level. Add in a developing recession and people losing their homes nationwide, only a Katrina-type storm would have had staying power last season. Again, not saying it is right, just seems to be the reality of news reporting.

[Sambucol]

There are a lot of blue tarps covering roofs in Baytown. And there are still people battling homeowner's and windstorm insurance coverage. 2 people I work with lost their entire homes where nothing was left to live in. One's insurance came through while the other's aren't. It's not a good situation to be in any time, but especially with the season about to start up again.

[Ed Mahmoud]

There are a lot of blue tarps covering roofs in Baytown. And there are still people battling homeowner's and windstorm insurance coverage. 2 people I work with lost their entire homes where nothing was left to live in. One's insurance came through while the other's aren't. It's not a good situation to be in any time, but especially with the season about to start up again.

'Texas Windstorm' seems particularly unpopular, judging from lawyer commercials.

[RL3AO]

National media: "It was only a category 2 at landfall in Texas".

[srainhoutx]

National media: "It was only a category 2 at landfall in Texas".

Yeah, right. FYI, still a lot of unstarted repair issues in NW Harris County and some blue tarps still dot the area. Claims of substantial amounts are nearing settlement and our work load continues 7 months after Ike.

[hurricanetrack]

A trend in recent years....post-2004 & 2005 seasons..is that on the major news networks like CNN and MSNBC (not sure I would include Fox news with Geraldo on the Galveston sea wall reading his anenometer in km/hour in that group!) will go all-out leading up to and during the storm in terms of coverage. Pretty much continuous coverage because let's face it, reporters braving the elements makes for great t.v.

Once the storm moves onshore...and especially if the 'worst case scenario' is declared as to not have happened, the coverage quickly dwindles to a few minutes each hour for about a week or so after the storm. Then there may be a post-storm follow-up report a few weeks later. Live-action stories...and this includes a new-found love of reporting hurricanes...get ratings. Follow-up stories are grim, bleak, and have no 'action'. For right or for wrong, they fall off the map on the national news level. Add in a developing recession and people losing their homes nationwide, only a Katrina-type storm would have had staying power last season. Again, not saying it is right, just seems to be the reality of news reporting.

You nailed it. Absoutely nailed it.

[Jagno]

Here in SW Louisiana we are still repairing damage from Rita and Ike. As a matter of fact we just got my huge metal and steel gazebo that was in a huge pile picked up and moved out last week. We finally got the 3 car garage rebuilt and yesterday was the first day that I was able to actually use my garage door opener and drive into it to park. The apartment is completely rebuilt on the exterior but we are just starting on the interior. My Kabota tractor is still sitting at the Kabota dealership waiting on parts. We still cannot figure out how that tractor ended up across the acre from the shed it was in looking like it was hit by an 18 wheeler in Ike. My new Rita wooden fence was partially taken out in Ike and we finally got that rebuilt in January.

The biggest problem around here is that following some really hard lessons in Rita we learned quick, fast and in a hurry that you had only three choices following Ike (1) Hire a contractor that lies, steals you blind and does crappy work or (2) Do it yourself (3) Get on a waiting list that is approximately 2 years for a really reputible contractor that will still cost you a fortune.

[CrazyC83]

does that 28.1 billion include the damage inland? For reasons I cannot figure out, those were not included in the official damage toll. had that have been included, as I believe it should, Ike would have been ahead of Wilma at 23 billion before the increase

They may have excluded inland damage because Ike became extratropical. That's why they didn't include the inland deaths in Ike's death toll.

That goes against what they have done with previous storms though such as Frances and Ivan, although none had numbers close to what Ike's was in that situation (nearly $5 billion).

As for the total damage estimates, there are three valid figures:

$19.3B - US damage while tropical
$24.0B - Total US damage
$28.2B - Total known damage along entire path (some countries are still missing data)

[wxman57]

I was told that the total U.S. damage was now estimated at $28.1 billion and probably closer to $29 billion. That did not include other countries.

[weatherrabbit_tx]

I can agree about the blue tarps, even here in the lake conroe area too, however less then what it was before...