Most Common Types of Storm Damage?

6/19/2018 (Permalink)

What Are the Most Common Types of Storm Damage?

Storm damage can occur in a variety of ways including flooding, wind damage, and even fire. Flooding rains can cause extensive amounts of damage to your home, lightning strikes can cause fires, and high winds can cause a number of structural issues.

But which is the greatest risk to your home and homes around the country?

The risk for each of these depends on the areas in which you live. If you live in low-lying areas or coastal areas prone to tropical systems, flood damage is going to be the mostly likely cause for concern. Fire damage from lightning strikes can occur anywhere at any time.

The Most Common Type of Storm Damage

Annually, flooding is the most common and extensive form of storm damage that occurs in the United States. Even during high wind events like tropical storms or hurricanes, the majority of the damage comes from the flooding rains from the storms and not the destructive winds.

Every year, insurance companies pay out billions of dollars to repair flood damage in the U.S.–and that number is only rising as property values increase and the number of homes in high risk coastal areas rise.

The amount spent on flood damage could continue to rise significantly in the future–especially if sea levels rise as predicted. If sea level rise occurs, thousands of homes in the United States will be at risk and potentially hundreds of billions of dollars will have to be spent to mitigate that damage.

Damage from flooding rains can penetrate every part of your home of business structure, requiring the gutting and replacement of much of the structural components inside, including walls, floors, ceilings, and more.