Most Higher Risk Houston Properties Outside of Designated Flood Zones

While the Houston area continues to deal with the unprecedented flooding brought about by Hurricane Harvey, a new data analysis from CoreLogic has identified a significant problem regarding the properties at the great risk of destruction.

 

The CoreLogic analysis determined that 52 percent of residential and commercial properties in the Houston metro are currently listed as being at either "High" or "Moderate" risk of flooding, but these properties are not in a Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) as identified by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). But unlike properties within SFHA zones that are categorized as Extreme or Very High Risk and require flood insurance if the property has a federally insured mortgage, the properties located outside of the SFHA zones are not required to carry flood insurance.

 

On Friday, ahead of the storm’s making landfall, CoreLogic estimated that Hurricane Harvey would bring between $1 billion and $2 billion from wind and storm surge damage—but that sum did not include insured losses related to additional flooding or business interruption. The rainfall connected to the storm is expected to continue through Thursday.

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