Insurance News Sun, Sep 14, 2024
Hurricane Ike set to batter the US
As the US awaits the arrival of hurricane Ike the insurance industry is already set to take losses estimated at some $15 billion on the chin. As Ike continues to gather pace, set to be upgraded from a category 2 to category 3 hurricane, it is set to hit landfall over the next few hours.
While it is near impossible to pinpoint where and when landfall will occur it seems as though the area of Galveston Bay (or a region within 50 miles of the bay) is the firm favourite at the moment. Houston is also expected to experience hurricane force winds if the predictions are correct. However, it is the unpredictable nature of the hurricane which makes it all the more dangerous and near impossible to plan for.
In a frightening development, the authorities are warning that a 20–25 feet storm surge (i.e. a tidal wave affect) could occur when the hurricane touches down on land. This would impact upon large areas of the Texas coastline and possibly move hurricane Ike up into the top ten all time US loss events. Whatever happens it is going to be a case of baton down the hatches across great areas of the US for the next couple of days at least.
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