Property Damage from Hurricane Mathew Projected in Billions

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) –A weakening Hurricane Matthew continues its march along the U.S. Atlantic coast amid relief that things could have been much worse.

However, damage to property is bound to add up.

Property data firm CoreLogic projects that Matthew’s grind across the Southeast will end up costing between $4 billion and $6 billion in insured losses.

The firm also projects that the hurricane will end up damaging roughly 1.5 million residential and commercial properties in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.

Hurricane Matthew’s estimated losses are a fraction of those racked up by Superstorm Sandy, which barreled into the Northeast in 2012, and Hurricane Katrina, which swept through Louisiana and nearby states in 2005.