Tornado damage not easy to quantify | Bedford Hillls Real Estate

Early estimates suggest the tragic tornado outbreak in Oklahoma this week resulted in $2 to $5 billion in insured property losses, according to weather risk-monitoring firmEQECAT. 

But calculating accurate property damage estimates in the wake of a tornado remains a challenge for analysts, insurers and the mortgage industry.

CoreLogic Spatial Solutions is currently working on a new modeling system that aims to expedite and more accurately assess tornado property damage in the days following a storm.

But tornadoes remain a challenge for scientists on the property damage front.

When compared to hurricanes and earthquakes, tornadoes are less predictable — and the damage is not equitable, making it hard to simply declare losses in an entire neighborhood without sending out ground troops to separate total losses from homes that were only partially damaged.

There is no rhyme or reason to how a tornado hits; it hits one house and leaves another, creating an inconsistent trail of destruction that is difficult to study by simply analyzing property values within a given parameter, says Tom Jeffery, senior hazard scientist at CoreLogic Spatial Solutions

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