IRVINE, Calif. – June 7, 2017 – Homes along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts are most in danger of damage from storms and hurricanes, but the risk spreads beyond typically affected states such as Florida and Louisiana, according to real estate data company CoreLogic.

Nearly 6.9 million homes are at risk from hurricane storm surge damage, which carries a potential reconstruction value of more than $1.5 trillion, CoreLogic says in its 2017 Storm Surge Risk Report. A weaker-category hurricane that makes landfall in a highly populated area could prove to be more catastrophic than a Category 5 storm that strikes a smaller town or section of undeveloped coastline, according to the report.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts fewer hurricanes this year than last, but the agency still forecasts 12 total storms (six that likely will develop into hurricanes, with three that will be a Category 3 or higher).

Texas and Florida – which have some of the longest areas of U.S. coastline – tend to have the most homes at risk. Florida ranks first, with slightly under 2.8 million homes at risk, followed by Louisiana (808,000) and Texas (536,000).

Source: Florida Realtors