CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (Realty News Report) – CoreLogic, the real estate data and analytics firm, estimated that about 14,000 Texas homes were at risk of storm surge damage from Hurricane Hanna.
The Category 1 storm made landfall Saturday afternoon roughly 33 miles south of Corpus Christi. In Nueces County, where Corpus Christi is located, CoreLogic reported that approximately 1,645 homes were vulnerable to storm surge impact.
Hanna presented a compounded threat because Corpus Christi and surrounding areas were already confronting high rates of COVID-19 infection.
“Any hurricane is an enormous challenge,” Gov. Greg Abbott said Saturday. “This challenge is complicated and made even more severe, seeing that it is sweeping through an area that is the most challenged area in the state for COVID-19.”
CoreLogic warned that the combination of coronavirus-related economic strain and hurricane damage would add financial pressure for homeowners in affected communities. Natural disasters can increase mortgage delinquencies, and when combined with already elevated delinquency levels, they can amplify losses for homeowners, lenders and insurers and slow local economic recovery.
“If a hurricane causes significant storm surge damage during a time when mortgage delinquencies are already high, this could result in additional losses for homeowners, lenders and insurers – and ultimately, delay economic recovery for impacted communities,” said Dr. Frank Nothaft, chief economist at CoreLogic. “For example, our analysis shows that three months after 2018’s Hurricane Florence made landfall, serious delinquency rates had doubled in major metros affected by the storm.”
By Sunday afternoon Hanna had weakened to a tropical storm and moved into northern Mexico. Parts of South Texas recorded more than eight inches of rain as the storm passed through.
July 26, 2020 Realty News Report Copyright 2020
File: Hurricane Hanna Hits Texas. File (2): Hurricane Hanna Hits Texas as 14,000 Homes Face Surge
Image: National Hurricane Center
