76 Tornadoes in May Caused $2B-$5B in Insured Losses: Eqecat

Tornadoes that struck the United States from May 18 to May 20 caused anywhere from $2 billion to $5 billion in insured losses, disaster modeling company Eqecat said.

The firm said most of the losses were attributed to the tornado that devastated Moore, Oklahoma, last month.

Eqecat said some 76 tornadoes struck across 10 states over a three-day span. The worst of it was in Moore, where the firm said about 13,000 structures were damaged.

At the high end of the range, the outbreak may end up ranking as the second-worst ever in terms of insured losses, behind only the late-April 2011 tornadoes that devastated Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and other communities.

AIR Worldwide issued its estimate of the replacement value of properties ruined by May 20’s massive EF-5 tornado striking Moore, Okla., putting it at more than $2 billion.

Within a 1-mile zone of the storm track (for a total width of 2 miles), AIR estimates a total replacement value of about $6 billion.

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