Hurricane Beryl's damage to Texas homes may total as much as $1.5 billion

Hurricane Beryl’s landfall in Texas could result in property damage totaling hundreds of millions of dollars, a preliminary estimate shows.

Total insured wind and storm surge losses in Texas will be between $700 million and $1.5 billion, according to CoreLogic.

CoreLogic estimates there are between 1,500 to 3,500 homes near Bay City, Texas at risk to storm surge flooding and an additional 3,500 to 7,500 homes at risk to storm surge flooding in Brazoria County. This risk stems from the shallow topography beneath the Gulf’s water, which has resulted in many Texans elevating their homes to mitigate any potential flood damage, the report added.

Close to two million Texans are without electricity.

A fallen tree on top of the Holy Cross Early Learning Center after Hurricane Beryl in Houston, Texas, US, on Wednesday, July 10, 2024. Houston is still strangled by the chaotic aftermath of Hurricane Beryl, which struck the country’s fourth-largest city on Monday as a Category 1 hurricane.

Mark Felix/Bloomberg

Insured-property related losses could’ve been significantly worse if the Category 1 hurricane had made landfall in a more densely populated Texas city like Galveston or Corpus Christi compared to Matagorda Bay, the report posits. 

By taking another path, the hurricane’s strong winds impacted fewer properties resulting in a more “manageable insured loss total,” wrote Jon Schneyer, director of catastrophe response at CoreLogic, in a post published July 9.

Schneyer points to Hurricanes Idalia in 2023 and Ian in 2022 as examples that showcase why the trajectory of a hurricane matters.

“Idalia, despite being a major hurricane at landfall, crossed the Florida coastline in the Big Bend region, a much less densely populated part of Florida. On the other hand, Hurricane Ian made landfall in southwest Florida over Cayo Costa near Fort Myers. Ian was a stronger hurricane, but the difference in the estimated industry insured losses was large,” continued Schneyer. “Hurricane Ian caused tens of billions of dollars in insured losses, while Idalia caused just a couple billion, if even. Landfall location matters.”

Hurricane Beryl caught many spectators off guard because of how fast it strengthened into a Category 5 hurricane in between its three landfalls, due to exceptionally warm water.

More erratic weather conditions, brought on by climate change, will likely result in an increase in events such as hurricanes, tornadoes and wildfires. 

For now, it is uncertain how insurers, housing agencies and mortgage servicers will deal with a future that includes more frequent climate events. Housing agencies like the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Federal Housing Finance Agency say they are taking steps to prioritize the issue.