NORFOLK, Va. — A major hurricane hasn’t hit Hampton Roads in more than 150 years. But if a Category 3 storm were to make landfall, it could cost the region $15.6 billion in damages and wipe out more than 76,000 jobs, according to a new study from Old Dominion University’s Dragas Center for Economic Analysis and Policy.
The study, led by Economics Professor Bob McNab, lays out the severe economic toll a direct hit would have on the region and exposes a major gap in preparedness. The biggest concern? Many homeowners don’t have flood insurance, with rates well below the national average in multiple Hampton Roads communities.
“[When] Hurricane Harvey struck Houston, what we saw is that areas that were covered with flood insurance not only recovered but recovered completely and swiftly. And neighboring localities that did not have flood insurance or were barely covered struggled to recover,” McNab said. “And this is a lesson for Hampton Roads.”…