Catastrophe risk modeller Karen Clark & Company (KCC) has estimated that the insured loss from Tropical Storm Cristobal, which made landfall along the US Gulf Coast on June 8th, will be close to $150 million.
This KCC estimate includes the privately insured wind and storm surge damage to residential, commercial, and industrial properties and automobiles, but excludes losses under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
At just $150 million, it seems likely that this industry loss will be retained in the primary market. However, storm force winds are persisting as Cristobal tracks into Canada, so there is potential for more damage.
First identified as a tropical depression close to the Yucatan Peninsula on June 1st with wind speeds of 30mph, Cristobal strengthened into a tropical storm the next day. The storm brought heavy rain to Mexico before moving across the Gulf of Mexico.
According to KCC, despite unfavourable conditions, Cristobal’s maximum sustained winds increased to 50mph on June 6th. The storm made landfall along the US Gulf Coast with maximum sustained winds of 50mph but started to weaken as it tracked over Louisiana and Mississippi.
Cristobal has now become extratropical as it moved up the US, with storm force winds north of the Great Lakes and rainfall continuing to drive some flooding.
“No major structural damage is expected from Cristobal’s maximum sustained winds, but power outages have been reported in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama. Minor coastal flooding from storm surge impacts were experienced from Atchafalaya, Louisiana, to Pensacola, Florida, with more significant flooding near Lake Pontchartrain in Louisiana, Waveland, Mississippi, and Mobile, Alabama,” explains KCC.
