NYC vulnerable to storms

From the Huffington Post:

When people think of hurricane damage they usually think of Miami or New Orleans, but a new report suggests the greatest financial risk of all may be much farther north: the greater New York City area.

Data analysis firm CoreLogic said in a new report released on Thursday that the U.S. metropolitan area at greatest risk, both in the number of properties affected and the potential value of damage, was New York City. For the firm's purposes, the area also includes Long Island and northern New Jersey.

While most people associate hurricane damage with wind, the storm surge from rising waters caused by cyclones has just as much impact, if not more.

That was painfully evident to residents of the northeastern states in particular after last summer's Hurricane Irene. Although the insured impact of Irene on the New York City area was relatively limited, one of the insurance industry's nightmares has always been a major hurricane traveling up the Hudson River and striking the city and its environs.

By some estimates, such an event could cause $100 billion just in insured losses, with economic damage some order of magnitude greater than that.

CoreLogic estimated the property at risk in the New York City area was worth some $168 billion.