Loss estimates following the landfall of Hurricane Charley in the US have been downgraded from the region of $10bn-$15bn, to $5bn, said Risk Management Solutions (RMS).
RMS said updated analyses of the storm's structure indicated that Hurricane Charley's windfield was more compact than expected and that the storm's intensity decreased more rapidly than forecast.
Radar and infrared imagery suggest that the storm's radius to maximum wind was less than six miles at landfall, substantially smaller than what was expected for a Category 4 hurricane, said the company.
“On average, a hurricane's strongest winds would be located 20 to 25 miles away from its center,” said RMS meteorologist Kyle Beatty.
“But this can vary significantly between storms and even during the evolution of a single storm system. Wind speed observations indicate that Charley's swath of damaging winds narrowed abruptly just before landfall.”
Sixteen people were confirmed dead after the hurricane made landfall in Florida on Friday, and at least five were killed in Jamaica and Cuba. Florida was declared a disaster area.
The loss estimates do not include damage incurred in the Caribbean, Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, and Cuba.
