Insured Losses From Louisiana Floods Could Reach $11B

Catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide estimates that insurable losses from the rainfall-induced Louisiana floods in August will be between $8.5 billion and $11 billion. The rainfall lasted about seven days, “resulting in accumulations of around 7.1 trillion gallons in Baton Rouge and the surrounding suburbs, according to reports, reaching upward of 30 inches in some areas,” said Dr. Boyko Dodov, vice president and director of flood modeling at AIR Worldwide. Twenty parishes were declared major disaster areas, and FEMA issued $1 billion in Federal Disaster Assistance grants to those affected.