An outbreak of tornadoes that severely impacted parts of Nashville, Tennessee on March 3rd, 2020 is expected to result in total damage to property of more than $1 billion, according to catastrophe risk modeller, CoreLogic.
Around 2am local time, a line of severe thunderstorms produced tornadoes with an estimated intensity of EF3 or EF4 (Severe or Devastating), mostly impacting the community of Nashville, Tennessee.
The damage to property has been severe and the CoreLogic tornado path map currently estimates that around 250 square miles were impacted by the event. At the same time, more than 20 fatalities have been reported from the 50 mile-long tornadic event, which extended well beyond the Nashville metro area.
It’s been reported that tens of properties have been flattened by the severe convective weather outbreak, with damage to both commercial and residential properties.
The catastrophe risk modeller has said that it expects the total damage to property from the tornado outbreak to exceed the $1 billion mark. However, at this stage it is still too early to determine any potential hit to the insurance and reinsurance market, with damage assessment ongoing.
According to CoreLogic, for 22,389 structures in the tornado path, with a reconstruction value of roughly $2.4 billion, there’s a 30% or greater damage probability, and, for 13,628 structures with a reconstruction value of $1.7 billion, the damage probability is between 10% and 29%.
CoreLogic notes that while tornadoes can occur at anytime of the year, March represents the start of the higher frequency severe convective storm season.
The image below, provided by CoreLogic, highlights the track of the recent outbreak of tornadoes in the Nashville area.
