April Tornadoes Likely to be Alabama’s Costliest Ever Disaster

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The April 27 tornado outbreak will likely end up being Alabama’s most costly natural disaster.

Gov. Robert Bentley and state Insurance Commissioner Jim Ridling said the catastrophe modeling company AIR Worldwide estimates that insured losses in Alabama will be between $1.9 billion and $2.6 billion.

Ridling said the two have been traveling the state to visit storm-damaged areas, and the estimates of damage seem accurate.

Hurricane Ivan in 2004 had been the state’s costliest storm, with $2 billion in losses to insured property.

Bentley and Ridling said the estimated insured loss includes damage to structures and their contents, additional living expenses for residents, and losses from the interruption of business.

The insured losses are not the total losses. During a news conference last week, Bentley said about 70 percent to 75 percent of Alabama’s homeowners were insured for their losses during Hurricane Ivan in 2004 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Nearly two weeks after the storm, Alabamians are still seeking help.

Rita Egan, a spokeswoman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said 48,950 Alabamians have applied for help, and $25 million has been approved, mostly for temporary housing. She said FEMA has inspected the property of about one-third of the people who have applied.

The federal government has also agreed to pick up a larger share of the cost of debris removal because of the scope of the damage. The federal government is paying 90 percent through June 12 instead of the normal 75 percent. The remaining 10 percent is paid by state and local governments.

Removing storm debris is starting to produce jobs. A spokesman for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said 578 people should be hired in Tuscaloosa County, which was one of the hardest hit.