Houston, Texas would rank fifth highest among U.S. cities in terms of potential property damage if it were to suffer a direct hit by a category five hurricane, the most severe type of hurricane, according to a new report.

The report, “2011 Storm Surge Report,” by CoreLogic, a California-based information analytics company, estimated that a category five storm would cost Houston $20 billion in property loss, which would rank the city fifth behind Long Island, New York; Miami, Florida; Virginia Beach, Virginia; and Tampa, Florida.

According to the report, Long Island could suffer a staggering $99 billion in property loss from a category five storm.

The report considered five data sets — coastal surge risk, hurricane propensity, coastal water feature, mainland determination and elevation — in developing its estimations. The most vulnerable ZIP codes in the Houston area include 77573, 77554, 77059, 77571, 77062, 77566, 77586, 77539, 77546 and 77521.

Sources

Swamplot (blog), “A $20 Billion Bath for Houston,” May 3, 2011.

CoreLogic website, “Advanced Storm Surge Analytics Enhance Your Coastal Risk Profile.”