Idalia has weakened to a tropical storm as it moves into South Carolina and North Carolina on Thursday, after making landfall in Florida as a major hurricane on Wednesday.
Power Outages and Widespread Flooding
According to website PowerOutage.us, more than 300,000 customers were without power in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina as of early Thursday. The National Hurricane Center has issued an early warning stating that there are widespread areas of life-threatening flash flooding in southeastern North Carolina.
Estimated Insured Losses
Preliminary estimates before Idalia made landfall imply average insured losses of around $9.4 billion, according to analysts at UBS who cited preliminary estimates from RMS, a catastrophe risk modeling firm under Moody’s. However, these losses should be largely contained within the insurance sector’s expected catastrophe losses for the quarter.
Comparisons to Hurricane Ian
Unlike Hurricane Ian last year that caused $112 billion in damage, Idalia made landfall in a much more sparsely populated region. Therefore, it is expected that the losses from Idalia will be significantly lower.
Tampa International Airport Resumes Operations
Tampa International Airport in Florida announced that it would resume full operations on Thursday. Fortunately, the airport has avoided any serious damage during the storm.
Originally written by Adam Clark