Hurricane

CoreLogic Risk Analysis Shows Hurricane Delta Threatens 293,685 Homes with Storm Surge Damage

—With striking similarities to Hurricane Laura, Hurricane Delta threatens the same coastal towns already struggling to recover—

CoreLogic^® (NYSE: CLGX), a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled solutions provider, today released data analysis showing 293,685 single-family and multifamily homes across Louisiana and the U.S. Gulf Coast with a reconstruction cost value (RCV) of approximately $62.85 billion are at potential risk of storm surge damage from Hurricane Delta based on its projected Category 2 status at landfall. These estimates are based on the October 7, 5 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) National Hurricane Center forecast.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201008005338/en/

Hurricane Delta: Number of Homes at Storm Surge Risk and Associated Reconstruction Cost Value (Graphic: Business Wire)

“After battering the Yucatán Peninsula near Cancún, Mexico, Hurricane Delta is headed for the Gulf Coast just weeks after Hurricane Laura brought significant wind and storm surge damage to the Texas and Louisiana coastlines,” said Curtis McDonald, meteorologist and senior product manager of CoreLogic. “Residents in these coastal areas are already trying to recover from their losses and are now faced with a second substantial storm. This season has been relentless, and Louisianans should be prepared for the long recovery road ahead.”

As Hurricane Delta approaches the Gulf, its path will become more certain and the metropolitan areas at risk will narrow. For the most up-to-date storm surge exposure estimates, visit the CoreLogic natural hazard risk information center, Hazard HQ™, at www.hazardhq.com.

The primary threats as Hurricane Delta makes landfall in central Louisiana will be storm surge and damaging winds. Heavy rainfall is also expected, but a fast storm speed is expected to limit catastrophic inland flooding. CoreLogic catastrophe and weather experts expect the 2020 hurricane season to continue on its above-average trend given warmer oceanic

Residents still face problems with contractors two years after Hurricane Michael

BAY COUNTY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) – Two years ago Hurricane Michael ravaged our area, and for some, they’re still feeling the effects.

text: We talk with a family living in a trailer after a contractor took their money without repairing their storm damaged home. We are looking at how much money has been stolen from home owners and insurance companies through contractors not doing the job they were hired to do.

© Provided by Dothan WTVY
We talk with a family living in a trailer after a contractor took their money without repairing their storm damaged home. We are looking at how much money has been stolen from home owners and insurance companies through contractors not doing the job they were hired to do.

Residents are still facing problems with fraudulent contractors.

Load Error

“Whenever we first moved into the camper it was only supposed to be four months. Here we are almost two years later, same boat,” Bay County resident Kelsie Raffield said.

Raffield’s home has been unlivable for the past two years, but it’s not because of what you see, it’s because of what you don’t.

She said her supposed contractor stole nearly $130,000 of their insurance money.

“The license number was real. He just wasn’t who he said he was,” Raffield said.

Now they’re trying to fix whatever they can on their own.

She looks back at all the signs telling them something wasn’t right.

“Logan did have to tell him like four different times, ‘hey this isn’t right what’s going on?’ You know, those red flags that you notice after you find out things about people,” Raffield said.

However, their case is just one of hundreds filed since Hurricane Michael.

“We’ve had 952 cases assigned to us since November of 2018 in the financial crimes section,” Corporal Dennis Rozier said. “Probably around 70% of those is actually contractor-related or complaints. A number of those are unfounded or they turn into civil; we have had a substantial number of them.”

Bay County Sheriff’s officials in the financial crimes unit say they are still working dozens.

“We’ve had

Contractors Serve as First Responders After Hurricane : CEG

A Bottom Line Equipment Link-Belt 210 with shear attachment works to demolish a commercial building damaged by Hurricane Laura in Sulphur, La.

Contractors, equipment dealers and the heavy equipment they provide are infrastructure’s first responders when natural disasters hit.

When Hurricane Laura made landfall in Louisiana on Aug. 27 as a Category 4 storm with sustained winds of 150 mph., its destructive path reached the eastern Gulf Coast and made its way as far north as Arkansas, Kentucky and Tennessee. Eventually, Laura’s winds abated and became a tropical storm … but not before leaving extensive damage.

The Lake Charles area was hit hard and heavy damage reached all segments of the community and surrounding areas.

As with all hurricanes, cleanup and debris removal work quickly followed. Clearing roadways is essential so that power companies can assess and repair the damage and residents can return to their homes. Hurricane Laura left nearly one million residents without power.

Bottom Line Equipment, a rental equipment business that has rental locations all along the Louisiana and Texas gulf coasts, is one of the companies playing a crucial role in the recovery effort. It has nearly 200 pieces of heavy equipment out to contractors working on cleanup and power recovery, according to Kurt Degueyter, president of company.

Operating from a base at its Sulphur, La., location, Bottom Line has drawn equipment and attachments from all of its seven locations in Louisiana and Texas to fill the needs of contractors.

Here is where Bottom Line has mobilized equipment for contractors who are working hard to bring normalcy back to the Lake Charles area.

Debris Cleanup

Ten debris management sites (DMS) have been established in the region, where fallen trees and other cleanup debris is hauled for grinding into usable mulch.

The teams of Crowder Gulf

With trees in homes, many in Lake Charles living in questionable conditions a month after Hurricane Laura

“Carefully. Praying we don’t fall through the floor in the bathroom,” Veronica Thomas said.

LAKE CHARLES, La. — It’s been more than a month since Hurricane Laura made landfall in Southwest Louisiana. Many have moved back to homes in pieces as they work to rebuild.

“It’s actually in the roof,” said Lake Charles resident Veronica Thomas about the tree in her home. “So it’s a big gaping hole, a turbine fell out the house, big gaping hole there. My bedroom was flooded, my bathroom was flooded, the living room was flooded, kitchen was flooded.”

She’s still living there now.

“Carefully. Praying we don’t fall through the floor in the bathroom,” she said.

Even as she waits to hear from insurance, she’s relieved to see workers taking the tree off her roof one month after the storm.

“Right now it’s coming out of my pocket, which is not a lot,” she said about the expenses for the work.

Trees also fell through Doris Lee’s home.

“Puncturing my house, we have leaks everywhere. I’m not the only one, but it was startling to see something like that,” Lee said.

The smell of mold fills one of her bedrooms, but she and her family are still living there.

“We just had to give up two bedrooms and we gave up the front part of the house so we’re fine,” Lee said.

They’re cleaning up and see progress everyday, while living in these tree filled homes

While some homes are still unlivable, many people have returned home. Now 99 percent of Lake Charles has power restored and drinkable water. They’ve seen progress over the last month, but there is clearly a long way to go.

Source Article …

Iowa Manufactured Homes Stand Up to ‘Inland Hurricane’ | Nation & World

DES MOINES and CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa, Sept. 29, 2020 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — One thing Iowans are familiar with is wild weather, says the Iowa Manufactured Homes Association (IMHA). Positioned in the heart of the Midwest, Iowa’s weather ranges from extreme cold and snow to temperatures in the triple digits. And let’s not forget tornadoes. Iowans see virtually everything mother nature can throw, but on August 10, 2020, the state was in for a record-setting weather incident.

What has been compared to an “Inland Hurricane,” a ferocious storm called a derecho swept across the state with winds equal to a Category 2 hurricane, taking down 100-year-old oak trees, stripping homes of roofs, destroying business complexes and more. But through it all, Iowa’s manufactured homes, generally perceived an easy target for wind and storm damage, stood up to the derecho.

“We’re blessed to say the least,” said Troy Hames, General Manager and VP of Sales for Hames Homes. “But, honestly, we’re not surprised.”

Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where Hames manages three manufactured home developments totaling over 900 units, seemed to suffer the worst from Iowa’s derecho. Striking an area with a population of just over 130,000, the damage was overwhelming. Businesses saw structural damage to buildings and signage. Parks and rural areas lost up to 80% of their trees, and thousands of acres of crops will need to be plowed under. Residential areas seemed to fare the worst. Over a month later, many residents are still cleaning up fallen trees and thrown debris. But Hames’ communities, along with other manufactured home communities throughout the state, saw comparatively little damage.

While common perceptions of manufactured homes would lead one to think hurricane force winds would be catastrophic, reality and the recent derecho proved otherwise. Out of Hames’ 900+ units, only three (3) were damaged