Hurricane Helene News

CoreLogic Increases Total Insured Loss Estimate From Hurricane Helene to $10.5B-$17.5B

Total insured loss from Hurricane Helene is now estimated at between $10.5 billion and $17.5 billion—a figure that continues to grow as more damages are assessed, pushing catastrophe modelers to continually revise estimates upward. The estimate out from CoreLogic on …

The US’s Flood Insurance Program Is Making More Repeat Payouts

When Hurricane Helene barreled ashore last week, it caused devastating flooding across the southeastern U.S., including in the Shore Acres area of St. Petersburg, Florida. The neighborhood saw 6 feet of storm surge, which flooded roads and homes. It was …

Mayorkas Warns FEMA Doesn’t Have Enough Funding to Last Through Hurricane Season

The Federal Emergency Management Agency can meet immediate needs but does not have enough funding to make it through the hurricane season, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told reporters this week. The agency is being stretched as it works with …

AccuWeather Increases Total Damage and Economic Loss Estimate From Helene to Between $225B-$250B

AccuWeather has increased its estimate of the total damage and economic loss from Hurricane Helene in the U.S. to between $225 billion and $250 billion. The update accounts for new verified information, including the loss of life, the immediate and …

Modeler KCC Puts Privately Insured Losses at $6.4B From Helene

Privately insured losses from Hurricane Helene will be about $6.4 billion from wind, storm surge and inland flooding in nine states, according to Karen Clark & Co., a well-regarded storm modeling and analytics firm. The figure includes residential, commercial and …

American Dams Weren’t Built for Today’s Climate-Charged Rain and Floods

As flooding hammered Appalachia in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, residents became intimately familiar with a new norm in the US’s post-storm script: dams at imminent risk of failing. Officials last week said multiple dams were on the brink, including …

Biden to Deploy 1,000 Troops to Aid North Carolina After Helene

President Joe Biden said he directed the Pentagon to send up to 1,000 active duty troops to help with recovery operations in North Carolina ahead of a trip to one of the states hardest hit by Hurricane Helene to survey …

State Farm, Citizens Brace for Losses From Hurricane Helene

State Farm General Insurance Co. and Citizens Property Insurance Corp. are bracing for the insurance industry’s largest losses from damage caused by Hurricane Helene, which is quickly becoming one of the costliest storms in U.S. history. State Farm was the …

Hurricane Devastates Southern Cotton Crops Just Before Harvest

Cotton growers are facing devastating losses and delays from Hurricane Helene just as harvest was beginning, marking the latest blow to profits in an already weak market. The storm ripped through the cotton-growing regions of Georgia and the Carolinas after …

Hurricane Helene Halts Poultry Plants, Damages Cotton Crops

Hurricane Helene has halted chicken processing plants and caused severe damage to some flocks, while also downing pecan trees and flattening cotton crops, as floodwaters swamped the southern U.S. Every commodity was impacted, with cotton, pecans, poultry and timber the …