Last week's Hurricane Gonzalo caused estimated insured damages of between $200 million and $400 million in Bermuda, catastrophe modeler AIR Worldwide said Wednesday.
The center of the storm came ashore Friday night, with strongest observed winds at Bermuda International Airport of 93 mph and gusts of 113 mph, according to Boston-based AIR.
In its analysis, AIR pointed out that Bermuda's strictly enforced building codes provide building design criteria to withstand sustained wind speeds of up to 110 mph and gusts up to 150 mph.
“Buildings are usually made of reinforced masonry or concrete and tend to have smaller windows equipped with shutters,” AIR said in the analysis. “Older, more traditional buildings are often made of limestone blocks. Light metal, which is highly vulnerable to wind damage, is used mostly for warehouses or repair shops, and these may not meet code requirements.”
AIR found that most of the newer and well-maintained buildings that meet Bermuda's codes stood up well to Gonzalo's winds, with only minor damage to roof areas that were directly exposed to the oncoming storm. It added that Gonzalo's track also may have mitigated the damage in Bermuda.
“Building damage from winds is due to both wind speed and duration,” AIR said. “Thus, the damage caused by Gonzalo was not as bad as it potentially could have been because Gonzalo's eye (the calm of the storm) enveloped the entire territory as it passed directly overhead, thereby reducing the amount of time buildings were exposed to heavy winds.”
Insured damage in Bermuda from last week's Hurricane Gonzalo should be around $300 million, according to a report issued by catastrophe modeler CoreLogic Eqecat.