SECTION 4: RISK ASSESSMENT
Lightning can also cause cascading hazards, including power loss. Loss of power could critically impact those relying on energy to service, including those that need powered medical devices. Additionally, the ignition of fires is always a concern with lightning strikes. The availability of sheltered locations such as basements, buildings constructed using hail-resistant materials and methods, and public storm shelters, all reduce the exposure of the population. Residents living in mobile homes are more vulnerable to hail events due to the lack of shelter locations and the vulnerability of the housing unit to damages. According to the 2022 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates, 12,462 occupied housing units (2.7 percent) in Wake County are classified as “mobile homes or other types of housing.” Using the 20 22 ACS persons per household estimate of 2.75, the population at risk due to their housing type was estimated at 34,270 residents. Individual who work outdoors may also face increased risk. Since 1998, the NCEI records four fatalities and one injury attributed to lightning in Wake County. NCEI records 3 fatalities and 15 injuries attributed to wind events in Wake County. There are no injuries or fatalities attributed to hail. PROPERTY Property damage caused by lightning usually occurs in one of two ways – either by direct damages through fires ignited by lightning, or by secondary impacts due to power loss. According to data collected on lightning strikes in Wake County, the vast majority of recorded property damage was due to structure fires. NCEI records lightning impacts over 22 years (1998-2023), with $2,699,000 in property damage recorded (no incidents were recorded in 2016, 2017, or 2021). Historically, this has resulted in $122,681 in property impacts annually in Wake County. The average impact from lightning per incident in Wake County is $65,829. General damages to property from hail are direct, including destroyed windows, dented cars, and building, roof and siding damage in areas exposed to hail. Hail can also cause enough damage to cars to cause them to be totaled. The level of damage is commensurate with both a material’s ability to withstand hail impacts, and the size of the hailstones that are falling. Construction practices and building codes can help maximize the resistance of the structures to damage. Large amounts of hail may need to be physically cleared from roadways and sidewalks, depending on accumulation. Hail can cause other cascading impacts, including power loss. During a 25-year span between January 1, 1998 and December 31, 2023 in Wake County, NCEI reported $110 million in property damage as a direct result of hail. This averages to $4.4 million per year in reported damages due to hail, though it should be noted that the $110 million in recorded damage was all due to only three separate storms during this time. According to a National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) study of insurance claims from the Insurance Services Office (ISO) ClaimSearch database, between 2017 and 2019, North Carolina saw 58,342 separate hail damage claims. It should be noted that property damage due to hail is usually insured loss, with damages covered under most major comprehensive insurance plans. Because of this, hail losses are notoriously underreported by the NCEI. It is difficult to find an accurate repository of hail damages in Wake County, thus the NCEI is still used to form a baseline. When strong enough, wind events can cause significant direct damage to buildings and infrastructure. NCEM’s IRISK database estimates damages from increasing magnitudes of wind events, detailed in Table 4.104 through Table 4.107.
Wake County, NC Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan
WSP June 2024 Page 201
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