Storm Surge Could Cause Billions in Damage on Long Island

A new analysis from CoreLogic shows that New York City and Long Island are at-risk for the most expensive damage should a storm surge occur during a worst-case scenario Hurricane, OPB News reports.

West Islip, Massapequa, Riverhead and parts of Brooklyn are identified as the areas that could be most affected be a storm surge in the report.

Though Long Island and New York City are not the most likely areas to be hit with a hurricane-the reports cites Miami as a place with a much higher likelihood-a hurricane strike in the area has the potential to be the most costly.

A Category 4 storm hitting the metropolitan New York area, which includes Long Island, could inflict damage to residential homes upwards of $168 billion, according the CoreLogic's report. Even a Category 1 storm hitting at its peak could rack up $48 billion of residential damage, the report said.

The CoreLogic analysis shows that although New York City and neighboring Long Island are not at the greatest risk of a hurricane (Miami has a far greater likelihood of getting hit), a powerful hurricane striking the Big Apple would prove to more expensive. The report finds that even a Category 1 storm could cause property damage of $48 billion.

Hurricane Irene, which tore through 10 states on the East Coast and in August 2011, caused an estimated $7 billion in damamge, according to ABC news.

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